Code Geass: Lelouch of the Digidestined
by Demon of Zero
Summary: Digimon were created as an artificial life, their original purpose lost to humanity with the death of their creators. And so the world gave them a purpose, horrible though it may be. Those that emerged in the human world were captured and enslaved, used as soldiers and weapons. And despite these changes, still some things remain the same. Zero will rise and the world will change.
1. Chapter 1

This is a rewrite of the old Lelouch of the Digidestined Some things will change, others will remain the same, but I expect the overall quality of this one to outdo the previous.

You know, Keramon is one of my favorite digimon. I mean, he's such an utter badass that the one in the movie forced two rookies to go champion to deal with him. And then broke "Supervillan code" and attacked during the transformation sequence. And then he digivolves and drops two of the strongest Megas we've come across, forces them to DNA digivolve, and is still forcefully restrained by people sending emails and such to slow him down.

And then in the next movie he's featured, we have Armageddemon. Nuff said.

But yeah. Expect this to be similar yet different to the older version. For anyone new, I'll keep myself from spoiling what happened in the older version so it remains a surprise, but I'll also tweak it here and there so return readers aren't bored to death.

Oh, and I don't own Code Geass or Digimon. I forget that sometimes.

* * *

A sigh escaped the lips of a dark haired boy as he examined the board before him. Despite the precarious situation that he found himself joining in, he was calm as could be. "I'll be done in nine minutes at the most." He muttered in a bored tone. His lips turned upwards at the surprise on the face of his opponent, who found the audacity of the boy to be amusing.

"Checkmate." Lelouch Lamperouge announced dully. It had been a total of eight minutes and twenty four seconds.

His opponent, a noble who's name Lelouch hadn't even bothered to remember, was in absolute shock. As were the bodyguards stationed in the four corners of the room. As a matter of fact, the only two not surprised by this development were the boy's escort, a blue haired schoolboy wearing the same uniform as the first, and the man whom he had rescued from his sure-loss.

As the duo walked out of the building, the bluenette laughed jovially with his hands placed behind his head in a relaxed gesture. "I love when you go against nobles. They always pay out of their pride, the looks on their faces are worth more than the bets they placed."

Lelouch chuckled lightly, tapping the side of the briefcase that contained their winnings. Nobles were such dramatics, almost always including suitcases with their bets for some reason. 'At least I'll never have to worry about having enough room to pack my belongings.' He thought to himself, before replying to his friend. "Yes, but let's not forget that the looks on the faces of nobles won't pay for Nunnally's medical bills, our groceries, and so on, Rivalz. Their bets, on the other hand..." He let the sentence trail off as he slipped gracefully into the sidecar of Rivalz's bike.

Rivalz scoffed playfully. "Honestly, Lelouch ol' pal, you've got enough saved up from our exploits that you don't even need to keep it up. Now you just do it to mess with the upper class, don'cha?" He hopped onto the driver seat of the bike, accepting the helmet Lelouch offered him. "Thanks." He responded, turning the key. With the hum of a motor, they were off onto the road.

"I'll admit." Lelouch began. "That I do this somewhat for my own amusement." The small smirk upon his lips showed that it was more than somewhat. "However," he continued, "it is mostly so that I have a continued means of providing for Nunnally and I. I keep doing this in case I ever need a large sum of money on short notice, and so that I won't have to rely on the Ashfords as much."

Rivalz nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I know. You and your "living on your own merit", huh?"

A dark grimace settled upon Lelouch's face for a short moment, quickly replaced by a subtle frown. "Yes, that's it precisely."

_You are nothing. Everything that you have was given to you by me._

He refused to accept that man's claim. After the death of Marianne the Flash, he had gone before his father, the emperor of a nation that now controlled a third of the world, and demanded answers as to why the investigation had been stopped. And, more importantly, why the 98th Emperor of Britannia couldn't protect his wife despite all of his vaunted power. He had relied on him to do something, anything, to bring his mother's killers to justice. Instead...

_Father, my mother is dead._

_What of it?_

His reliance on the Emperor and the subsequent shattering of that illusion had cost he and Nunnally dearly. They had been sent to Japan, now Area Eleven, as political hostages. Despite the original misgivings, a few weeks into their stay with the Prime Minister of Japan and his family, the young Lelouch and Nunnally had adjusted well and began to enjoy their new life. Nunnally, crippled and blinded in the same incident that had stolen their mother from them, had become enamored with life in the Kururugi Shrine. Lelouch was just happy that she was happy, eventually managing to enjoy the various quirks of life in Japan. From the grizzled war veteran Toudoh, who was instructing the young Kururugi Suzaku in martial arts, to the semi-frequent visits of Sumeragi Kaguya, cousin of the afforementioned Kururugi.

In short, they had adjusted and become happy with life. It was a beautiful year that was never meant to last any longer.

Lelouch clenched his fist, hidden from Rivalz, as he recalled the horrors he and Suzaku had to see during the aftermath of Britannia's invasion. How they had traversed a warzone on foot, carrying a crippled and blinded young girl, and scavenging anything edible in order to survive...

Not once, but twice, his happy, peaceful life had been shattered by Britannia. It was reasonable to say Lelouch Lamperouge, or rather Lelouch vi Britannia, loathed the country that had birthed him. The country that he now resided in through no fault of his own. Lelouch had plans. He simply needed the resources and the time to put things into motion.

'It's a shame I can't simply kickstart my plans into action.' Lelouch lamented. And indeed it was. Because Lelouch was scared, though he would never admit it, that he would never implement the plans and schemes he had in mind. That once he integrated himself into Britannian society he wouldn't have the chance to put forth his plans. That he would simply fade into obscurity and never accomplish all the things he promised oh so long ago.

_I swear, Suzaku... I will obliterate Britannia!_

The fire of hatred burned within Lelouch, tempered by cold logic. His desire for vengeance was strong, but so too was his desire for justice. The world was not fair, but it should be. The weak should not need to fear the strong, they should be encouraged by the strong to grow stronger themselves, and thus encourage still others who were weak to become strong. For the sake of those who didn't have the option to become strong.

Those like Nunnally, who were trapped within a cage of weakness that simply couldn't be broken. Why should they be cast aside, when they were just as human as anyone else?

No, the strong should protect the weak until such a time that they, too, could be protectors. A fair, just world. It was a naive dream, he knew, and yet still he allowed himself to entertain the notion. Sometimes, when the hatred for his wretched father and the rotten country and the unfair world was not enough to push him forward, the soft caress of idyllic fantasies waiting to become reality would pull him on for another day. He would survive until he could create such a world for his little sister and all those like her.

But still, the fire burned. His mother was killed and not a soul could discover the culprit? A terrorist attack in the middle of Pendragon, the Aries Villa no less? Investigations called off less than a week after the murder? What sort of justice was that?

Yes, Lelouch thirsted for justice and fairness, but he also craved blood. He was human, and it was human nature to desire revenge on those who have wronged you or yours. He was no saint and would never claim to be one, because deep down he still dreamt of putting his mother's murderers through torment that even the Devil himself would cringe at.

_Obliterate Britannia!_

If only it were that simple...

His musings were cut off, and he belatedly noticed having had an entire conversation with Rivalz about some flowery speech his half-brother Clovis la Britannia had delivered, when a horn honked. It was a very loud horn, he noted.

Turning to see the cause for commotion, he realized with a start that the reason the horn was so loud was because it was less than eight feet behind them.

"Floor it, Rivalz!" Lelouch shouted in a panicky tone.

The nervous and equally panicky tone of Rivalz voice was not the least bit comforting. "I am flooring it! OH GOD WE'RE GONA DIE! And I never told Prez I- AH!" He yelped fearfully as the truck actually rammed the motorbike, jostling it's terrified passengers, before swerving off a ramp into a dirt lot. And further into a building that was being constructed on said lot.

"Did..." Rivalz swallowed nervously. "Did we cause that?" He asked, looking at the scene of the wreck as smoke wafted from his engine. Apparently the bike couldn't handle Rivalz "flooring it" as long as he did. The sudden, and rather harsh, impact of the truck had only escalated matters. "Hope no one's hurt..."

"No, we didn't cause it. I think." Lelouch replied idly, his eyes scanning the suddenly appearing crowd gawking uselessly at the wreckage. No one rushed to see if the truck drivers were alright, phones that should be dialing for help were flashing pictures of the scene, and bystanders were looking on with a morbid sort of interest. After all, no one can look away from a wreck no matter how much they want to, it seemed.

That same hatred for Britannian society, tempered this time by the caring nature that Lelouch rarely showed to those outside of the council or a rare few confidantes, urged him to separate himself from the common parasites hovering over the scene of the crash like flies over a corpse. "I'm going to go see if they're alright." Lelouch announced.

Rivalz gaped at his friend, who ran off while shooting him a disarming smile. "B-b-but... LELOUCH!" He shouted off, frowning as his friend ignored his cries. "He just has to play hero..." He muttered, turning his attention to fixing his bike. After all, that was their only ride back to Ashford. "Why do I get the feeling something bad is going to happen?"

* * *

Lelouch was calm, despite the severity of the situation at hand. Here he was, trapped inside of a moving vehicle that was, apparently, being driven by none other than a band of terrorists, freedom fighters rebelling against the oppressive grip of Britannia.

He really should have just left well enough alone, but his damnable pride had spurred him to make this decision. No, not just his pride, he realized, it was also that deeper instinct of caring for the wellbeing of others that Nunnally had instilled in him. He didn't make himself a hero or anything of the sort, but he often stepped in to situations that were displays of the "Strong" versus the "Weak", such as an incident in which a brazen young Britannian had crashed into the rear end of a car belonging to an elderly couple and began demanding retribution, as though the incident was the fault of the older folks.

Needless to say, after a swift dressing down from a schoolboy the man was much more cooperative.

Back to the situation at hand, Lelouch inspected his surroundings. Dark room, no light source. Small hole in the roof, where he had come in, with no ladder to get back out. Large, spherical object of some sort... an object that was giving off a very peculiar feeling of familiarity and a myriad of other emotions that he couldn't quite place. The short rush of emotions left after less than a second, confusing the exiled prince greatly, before he quickly took cover behind the canister.

This was, of course, the best course of action for the situation at hand. After a moment, a red haired woman who was both familiar and strikingly lovely sauntered out of a door leading to the front of the truck, and made her way over to the only other object of notice in the truck. Said object was a large, dark grey tarp.

He very nearly gasped as the girl threw the tarp off, a vicious grin upon her lips. "They'll never expect this." She noted, summing up Lelouch's thoughts rather nicely too.

For beneath the tarp was a crimson machine, humanoid in appearance, with a black protrusion coming from it's back. A Glasgow, fourth generation Knightmare Frame and the very same weapon that had originally conquered Japan seven years ago. While Sutherlands had effectively replaced the Glasgow recently, it was by no means useless. In the hands of a skilled pilot, a Glasgow was still a match for a Sutherland or even a Gloucester piloted by your average rank-and-file soldier.

She made her way into the machine with an ease that suggested familiarity, before leaping out _through _the relatively thin metal door at the back of the truck, using the surprise of the tactic to demolish a helicopter with a Slash Harken.

Lelouch remained hidden even as the truck turned off the main road, eventually making it's way into the abandoned subway tunnels and plotting it's course directly towards the Ghetto. Shinjuku if he had his directions right, though he wasn't certain seeing as his vision was quite limited.

A few minutes later the truck stopped, it's wheels spinning uselessly as it fell into a large hole. The side of the truck opened up, much to Lelouch's confusion, before the spinning of the wheels stopped entirely. The driver must have been injured during his drive, and was now either dead or out cold. Lelouch wasn't sure which he'd prefer at the moment.

Lelouch decided to inspect the capsule for the moment, trying to figure out just what was inside of it. Really, he should have just made a break for it, but that strange myriad of emotions was still in the back of his mind. He heard the sound of footsteps, falling swiftly and surely enough that the runner must have been wearing night-vision goggles, and calculated based on the sound approximately where the runner was. But then the sound stopped, as he was in the middle of turning, and he was nearly thrown for a loop by a grey garbed leg aiming to knock his block off.

He reacted quickly, hands intercepting the lef flying through the air, spinning and transferring the momentum of the kick into a throw, sending the soldier flying into the truck, before jumping back a few feet and analyzing his foe. Standard grey body armor dictated it to be a Britannian soldier, who was equipped with a gas mask. Very fast, as evident by the fact that the soldier had kicked off of the wall mid-air and was now springing into a remarkably quick punch that clipped Lelouch's shoulder as he dodged. The black haired boy was unable to avoid the swift knee that deposited itself into his chest, just below his neck, with enough force to knock the breath, and the fight, right out of him.

"Stop this needless violence, can't you see you're causing more bloodshed!?" The soldier shouted.

That phrase certainly rekindled the fire in Lelouch's soul. "Needless violence!?" He coughed, his breath hitching. "If you wanted to stop... needless violence and bloodshed... you shouldn't be a Britannian soldier!" The boy's eyes were alight with anger and loathing for his homeland.

The soldier, who had been holding him by the shoulders with his knee pinning him against the wall of the truck, gasped as though someone had punched him. "L-Lelouch?" He stuttered, releasing the boy and allowing him to slide down the side of the truck and catch his breath. "Lelouch, it's me, Suzaku!" The soldier announced, removing his helmet to show friendly green eyes and a kind smile. Said smile turned sheepish as Lelouch leveled him a mixture between a pained grimace and a bemused sense of wonderment. "Er. Sorry." He offered.

"... You're in the military?" Lelouch asked, catching his breath at last. Fuck did that hurt. He KNEED him in the SOLAR PLEXUS. But what was really important was that his long since thought dead friend was standing before him, all smiles and happiness, while wearing the garb of a nation that stood for the exact opposite to him. "You're not with any resistance?" There was no way Suzaku had actually gone and joined the Britannians without an ulterior motive. The positively revolted look on Suzaku's face brought a brief hope to his chest. This was the part where Suzaku expressed his distaste but realized it was necessary for the rebel faction that he join to act as a double agent.

"What? Of course I'm not a terrorist!" Well there went that. Lelouch was mere moments away from tearing a strip out of Suzaku, before the canister opened and the brunette covered his face haphazardly with a gas mask. When n gas came, Lelouch kicked Suzaku off of him and moved to check on the figure of the green haired girl who had just fallen out of the capsule.

"So, poison gas, huh?" Lelouch wondered bemusedly. He couldn't help but wonder what this girl had done to anger his half-brother enough for him to cage her like he had.

Suzaku's hands went up in a show of innocence "It's what they told us at the briefing!"

"Filthy Eleven monkey!" A harsh voice shouted, indicating the arrival of Clovis's Royal Guard. "You were given strict orders!"

"But, sir!" Suzaku called out, jogging over to the soldiers. "I was told this was poison gas."

"Are you questioning orders!?" The man in charge, distinguished from his peers by his medals and other fanciful decoration, shouted. "However..." He continued, slightly quieter. "In light of your spotless military record, I'll let you off the hook this time. Now, execute this terrorist."

After a stalwart refusal to harm a civilian from Suzaku, he turned his back to the military-man. And then he fell to the ground as a gunshot rang out.

"Such a shame."

* * *

Lelouch forced himself to continue onward down the tunnel, pulling the green haired girl along behind him. "Damn it, damn it..." In his eyes were the beginnings of tears. "Seven years, and then he goes and gets himself shot. DAMNIT! This is your fault, isn't it?" He accused, leveling a glare towards the former prisoner. "Whatever Clovis wants you for, he's willing to go to great lengths to achieve it."

They stopped at the stairwell that would take them into a warehouse, inside of which many were hiding from the Britannian soldiers who had been slaughtering them mercilessly. Nervous mummers and quiet sobs could be heard even from his position in the tunnel. "No... He ordered a purge?" Lelouch felt a shiver run down his spine. How much had his pompous, vain, but still caring and soft hearted brother changed?

The screams of terrified Japanese answered that question as gunfire rang out and those in hiding were wiped out, save for one child who had survived the initial salvo and was groaning piteously. He heard a laugh, a scream, and more laughter.

White hot rage built up in Lelouch's chest, but he could do nothing for now. He made to retreat into the tunnels once more, but his plans were cut short by an unforseen circumstance.

Shirley really did call him at the very worst times.

And so, while Lelouch and the mystery girl were brought out of hiding, the dark haired boy thrown against the thin wall of the warehouse, with guns trained on every part of his body, Shirley was back at Ashford cursing her crush for hanging up on her.

"Well, well, chose a bad day to skip, Schoolboy. But still, you lasted quite some time. But, it's to be expected. You are a Britannian after all." He took aim. "Goodbye." And he fired.

"He mustn't die!" A voice rang out, as the green haired woman intercepted the bullet. She fell to the ground in a spray of blood.

"No..." Lelouch muttered helplessly, dashing over to her fallen form and inspecting her uselessly. A bullet to the head, she was gone.

The leader of the Royal Guard frowned, annoyed with this turn of events. "Ah, well. The subject was found tortured to death in the Ghetto, alongside the corpse of a Britannian student. How does that sound, schoolboy?" He asked with a superior smirk.

_"Do you want it to all end here?"_

'No, I don't.' Lelouch replied without a moment's hesitation. Was that the voice of that girl? What was going on?

_"You have something to live for. I can give you power to survive this and live on. But be warned. The power of the king will make you lonely indeed."_

Lelouch vi Britannia stood from the corpse of the green haired girl, a peaceful smile on his lips. It was at this time an unnatural fog rolled in. "Say, how should a Britannian who detests his country live his life?" The exiled prince asked.

The scarred leader chuckled. "What are you, some sort of radical?" His humor died in his throat as his gaze met that of the boy.

"The only one's who should kill are those prepared to be killed." Lelouch replied easily, left eye taking on an unearthly glow. "Lelouch vi Britannia commands you. Die."

"Happily, my Lord!" The assembled men shouted, firing on eachother and themselves gleefully.

The fog kept rolling in, even as the Royal Guard of Prince Clovis la Britannia committed suicide. Lelouch's eyes widened marginally when he realized just what was happening. "A digital field."

Digimon were a strange phenomenon, an entirely separate branch of life created by human experimentation. While full details of their creation aren't known, the generally accepted explanation is that a group of scientists had intended to create artificial life, succeeded, and disappeared for an unknown reason soon after.

However, none of that mattered much right now. Because Lelouch had just seen something he never thought he would see in person. It was an angel.

Or, rather, an Angemon. Long orange hair flowed from it's, or rather his, helmeted head. A tattered blue loincloth covered his pelvis, over white pants that formed seamlessly into boots that were adorned with golden crosses. Upon his back were six angelic wings, and in his hands was a simple golden staff.

The most important thing to know about this Angemon would be that it's fist was currently glowing a golden orange, reeled back as though to throw a punch. And it was aiming somewhere other than him. "Hand of Fate!" The digimon shouted, throwing it's fist forward and launching the golden-orange burst of energy in Lelouch's general direction, though slightly to the left.

An explosion of concussive force threw Lelouch away several feet, giving him another new bruise for his trouble. "Yeoooowowowo!" A maniacal voice yelped, it's source being one of the most bizarre things Lelouch had ever seen.

It was a digimon, that much was obvious. The smaller one was almost completely blue, save for the yellow, frill like collar that shot out from where it's neck would be. Several thin tentacles came from beneath the collar, tipped with small white claws. Also jutting from beneath the collar were two arms, which were longer than the other tentacles. The arms were tipped with large, slightly flat, hands, with five long, bony fingers. Upon the back of it's hands, the digimon had an insignia that appeared to be an orange, gear-like eye. Above the collar, a large, round head sat, topped by two long antenna-like growths, which appeared to have a few cuts taken out of them. The creatures face was the real kicker, the being had an enormous mouth, filled with dark blue fangs that seemed to come from the actual skin of the digimon, rather than growing seperately inside the mouth. It's eyes were perfectly circular, save two small parts which seemed to spike outward, with a dark green ring in the eye, giving the appearance of a VERY large pupil. Above the eyes were two black eyebrow-like marks that appeared tatooed on.

"Hey! That fucking HURT!" The creature shouted. And then it began cackling like a maniac, it's maw opening wide and glowing a pinkish white color, before a powerful blast of energy was fired from it.

Angemon simply batted the blast away with his staff in a bored manner. "You've run far enough, abomination? Dragging our conflict into the world of humans rather than being deleted gracefully?" His voice was tinged with disgust at actually speaking to the smaller creature. "Your kind are a mistake that our lord commands us to remove."

"Oh yeah? Well..." The creature cut off in a fit of giggles. "Your lord can get bent! BAHAHAHAH!"

The bored yet smug look on the angel digimon's face disappeared and became an angry snarl. "INSOLENT WORM!" He shouted, rushing forward and bashing the jellyfish looking digimon with his staff. Incidentally, this sent the rookie hurtling towards Lelouch.

Said youth just knew this was going to hurt. And so, he was pleasantly surprised when rather than crashing into him and sending them both hurtling into the wall, the creature seemingly defied gravity and momentum by coiling his tendrils around the boy, stopping his flight entirely while not even moving Lelouch an inch. "... Say, whassa human doin' here?" The jellyfish asked.

"It matters not. The loss of one human is inconsequential should you try to hold him hostage." The angel let loose another Hand of Fate, and Lelouch leaped out of the way as quickly as he could. The blast missed by only a few feet, the force sent him flying, he came to a stop by landing harshly on the ground. "Angel Rod!" The butt of Angemon's staff caught the Jellyfish in it's head, and since it was still coiled around Lelouch, they both were knocked for a loop.

"Damnit. I just got out of one life threatening situation, now I'm in another?" Lelouch grunted as he skidded to a stop.

The maniac digimon giggled a bit, a sheepish look somehow making it's way onto it's face. "Sorry for draggin' you into this, kekeke. Featherweight over there will probably end up destroying you out of principle, by the way. Politics in the digital world are fucked up right now, kekeke."

"Brilliant." He muttered. 'I'll use the Geass on it, then.'

"Have you finally chosen to lie down and allow yourself to be destroyed? A wise choice.-" Angemon was cut off as Lelouch yelled to him, "Lelouch vi Britannia commands you, return to the digital world!" The digimon was not phased, and did not enjoy the interruption. "Your life is forfeit for presuming to command ME, human."

Lelouch quickly hopped up from his downed position, still feeling the seemingly weightless digimon hanging onto his back. "What the hell did you do to draw the ire of this digimon's lord!?" He shouted to the blue creature.

"I hatched. S'about it really." It replied, shrugging it's... shoulders? "Politics are fucked up in the digiworld, kekekeKEKEKEKE!" At the end of his sentence, he fired off another bolt of destructive pink energy, scoring a lucky hit on the Angemon and dazing him for a few moments. During those few moments, the cackling digimon launched bolt after bolt of destruction onto it's enemy, it's insane laughter seemingly fueling them.

"ENOUGH!" Angemon shouted, twisting at high speeds until the orbs of pink simply deflected off of him, scorching the ground and burning through the walls. The twister shot at the duo like a drill, intent on finishing the fight right there.

'I'm going to die. After finally gaining the power to act, I'll perish before I can put it to use. What cruel irony.'

_Nunnally was going to be alone._

No. No, he could not, _would not, _let that happen. He didn't know how, but he would get out of this. He would survive. He had to live.

A brilliant flash of light, dark purple in color, stunned Angemon as he attempted to strike Lelouch and the blue digimon. A veritable cocoon of data streams wrapped around the the two, also a dark purple. From within the sphere, the voice of the jellyfish digimon called out in an entranced voice. "Keramon, digivolve to..." Another flash announced the arrival of a new digimon.

This one was much different than the previous. It's body was a mixture of red and white, shaped vaguely like a gourd, the upper half wider than the lower. The lower half was tipped with a golden barb, and the upper had a porcelain-like mask with jagged edges and a ruby red horn, beneath which was another part of the mask covered by the first. It's body had six red protrusions, two on either side of it's top half, and one on either side of it's bottom half. There were two rows of three golden spikes on the creature. One, slightly smaller than the other, was on it's front. The other was on it's back.

The six red protrusions shot out, three gold claws growing from each, connected to the main body by what appeared to be a mass of wires. The mask also extended, attached by more wires, and the two parts of the mask separated for a moment with a clacking sound. "Infermon." It announced, a bizarre warbling of two voices speaking at once. The six spindly legs sat themselves firmly on the ground, and Infermon began to grow accustom to this new form.

In a world of black, two spheres of violet light can be seen hovering beside one another. Inside of one sphere is Keramon, snickering quietly with a fierce grin.

Inside the other is Lelouch, naked as the day he was born, eyes widened and breathing somewhat labored. "This is amazing. I feel so powerful." The thought was an echo of Keramon's own, and Infermon spoke alongside these thoughts.

"Two beings sharing control of one body. So odd. There should be more conflict, and yet this body moves so easily. Are we really tied together so much, mentally, that our thoughts are mirrors of the other? We're more one being than two in control of a single body, aren't we?" Infermon pondered, the warbling of his voice disturbing Angemon greatly.

The holy digimon knew enough about his prey to realize that he had skipped the Champion stage altogether, reaching ultimate. And while skipping Kurisarimon weakened the new ultimate, it was still an extremely strong creature. He charged forward, intent on destroying the Infermon before it could gain it's bearings fully. "Angel Rod! Hand of Fate!" He thrust forward with the staff in one hand, his other launched the Hand of Fate forward.

"Hell's Grenade." Infermon countered the Hand of Fate with several small blasts from his muzzle, simultaneously disarming the Angemon by stabbing his arm with the golden claws on one of his legs, while another grasped the staff and tossed it away. Another leg pierced the Angemon, this one stabbing deeply into his shoulder. Infermon stretched as far away from Angemon as his legs would allow, retracted his mask back into the main body, and yanked himself towards Angemon with his horn aimed to impale the angel through his skull.

And so it did. Angemon quickly turned to particles and was absorbed from the air by Infermon, who flashed purple and was replaced by a panting Lelouch and a giggling Keramon.

"That was fucking awesome. Your name was Lelouch, wasn't it?" Keramon asked, returning to his previous position. That being, of course, with his tendrils coiled loosely around Lelouch's shoulders, hovering weightlessly behind the boy.

"Yes. And you're Keramon, right now." Lelouch inspected the peculiar item that had deposited itself into his hand. "Where did this come from? And what is it?"

"That's a digivice, Lelouch. It's not like the ones Britannia made to enslave Digimon, this one is special. It's a symbol of the Digidestined." Keramon replied informatively. "I don't know how I know this, but if I had to guess it would be because of the device you're holding right now. You feel it, don't you? The two of us share a bond now. You hardly noticed when I coiled myself around you."

Lelouch blinked, realizing belatedly that, yes, he had completely ignored the foreign feeling of Keramon entwining his tentacles around him. That was a very noticeable change to him. It was a gesture that spoke of trust, and even though he had just come into contact with Keramon, Lelouch could explicitly say he trusted the digimon. It was somewhat disconcerting, but at the same time comforting.

"So, now what, Lelouch? I've been running from that Featherbrain and his ilk for a long ass time, I'd rather throw my lot in with you. You're the boss, I'm content to just hover around. Kekekeke..." Keramon had managed to wrap around Lelouch in such a way that he looked like a bizarre backpack, with his arms crossed underneath the collar and his tendrils acting like backpack straps to support him on Lelouch's back. Actually, come to think of it, Keramon could actually hide himself as a backpack rather easily. Provided no one tried to take anything out of him via the only opening, his mouth. Something to consider for later on.

And it was very convenient for the next occurrence of the day, because if the knightmare crashing through the wall suspected him of having a digimon then the chances of shooting first were quite high.

He quickly reviewed what little he knew of his power. That is to say, nothing aside from the fact that Angemon had resisted it. He suspected either digimon were immune to the Geass, or it was due to his lack of eye contact with the angel. He decided to err on the side of caution, and rather than using his power, he fell back on an old gambling alias once the woman in the knightmare commanded him to identify himself.

"Identify yourself, and tell me why these men are dead!" She ordered. This was punctuated by a hail of bullets piercing the wall directly behind Lelouch.

He held his hands up, thankful that the sudden intrusion had startled Keramon into stiffening and remaining still, and spoke clearly and with confidence. "My name is Alan Spacer, my father is a Duke. I would like to request your protection for the time being. My identification is in my breast pocket."

Inside of the cockpit of her Sutherland, Villetta Nu pondered silently. 'A Duke's son? I shot at a dukes son. Shit. It may be a lie... But if I rescue a duke's son from this, I'm assured a promotion.' Her decision made, she came over the speaker again. "Hands where I can see them, I'll check your I.D. myself." The hatch opened, and she descended down on a small platform lowered by a cable, handgun pointed at him the entire time.

He waited a few moments, until she was nearly within arms reach, before activating the Geass. "Follow my orders until I leave this warehouse." He ordered.

"Yes, mi'lord." She replied, the picture of docility. Red rings surrounded her amber eyes.

Lelouch smirked. He could get used to this... Wait, no. That was a bad thing, wasn't it? Ah, well, it wasn't like he was turning her into a mindless slave or anything like that. Moral issues aside, he rather liked the fact that he could turn an enemy soldier into a subservient aide. "What is the situation in Shinjuku?"

"Prince Clovis has ordered a complete purge of the Shinjuku Ghetto." She replied.

Lelouch grit his teeth in anger. "A purge... And how do you feel about that?" He asked, curious to see how a member of the Purist faction would feel. Probably overjoyed.

"I'm simply performing my duty. I don't agree with slaughtering defenseless civilians, Elevens or not." Her answer improved his mood somewhat.

At least not everyone in Britannia was fully onboard with genocide. "You will give me your knightmare activation code and key." He ordered, accepting the offered key gratefully. "By the way, what is your name?" He asked, walking to the knightmare frame.

"Villetta Nu, my lord."

"A nice name."

* * *

Kouzuki Kallen was not having a good day. First, she didn't know where Nagata was. Chances were he was dead. That put her in poor spirits.

Secondly, Shinjuku Ghetto was being demolished and everyone inside was slated for death. That pissed her off.

Third, her knightmare was damaged, she was being chased, and she was low on energy. Her death was only a matter of time at this point.

"The west entrance." A voice called over her radio. "Take the west entrance, head for the train station."

"Who is this?" She barked, not trusting the new voice. "How did you get this signal?" She dodged a burst of gunfire, swiftly ducking behind buildings. The west entrance was coming up soon...

"That doesn't matter. If you want to win, trust me. I want to get as many people out of this as I can." The voice replied, seemingly sincere.

Kallen growled in frustration, swiftly making her way to the west entrance. "Now what?" She asked, barely dodging enemy gunfire.

"Jump onto the train, be ready to turn on them."

She did as told, leaping from car to car. By the time she was on the seventh car she turned, just in time to see an enemy destroyed by a pair of well placed Slash Harkens.

"Shot by friendly fire? You there, this is Jeremiah Gottwald, stand down- ahg!" He was cut off by a hail of gunfire from the supposed ally, and ejected before his situation could be taken advantage of.

"Hey, thanks, but how did you get ahold of a Suther... land?" He was gone.

"Kallen!" A voice yelled, drawing Kallen's attention to a group of Japanese running to her. "We got a call from some guy on the radio telling us to meet up here, he said you'd be here." Ohgi announced.

"He contacted you too?" She asked.

"You there, are you the leader of this group?" The voice asked, coming alive over the radio once more.

Ohgi hesitated for a minute, before relenting. "Yes, I am."

"I present to you the cargo of these train cars. If you're willing to follow me, we can use them to win this fight."

One of the resistance members, a redheaded man, jogged over to the train care and opened it eagerly, expecting new guns or explosives.

"HOLY SHIT!" He yelled, drawing everyone's attention to the train care. Which was full of Sutherlands. The various other rebels had similar reactions, ranging from disbelief to a sort of overjoyed surprise.

"W-wow." Ohgi muttered. "You said you could help us win? What, exactly, do you mean by that?" He asked, not trusting the voice but at least willing to hear him out.

"Smart man. Just because of a gesture like this doesn't mean you should trust me." The voice paused for a moment. "What I mean, is that if you are willing to put your faith in me, I will lead you to victory here. This is the first chance for the Japanese to claim a victory over Britannia in a long while, and I want to take it. And besides..." He trailed off darkly. "For every moment we sit by idly, more and more Japanese civilians are being murdered because Clovis wants his toy back. I'm not going to point the blame onto you lot, however your taking the gas here is what caused it. Just think of that."

Ohgi grimaced, guilt stabbing him in the chest. He knew that this was their fault. While they had removed a powerful weapon from Britannia, they also gave Clovis and excuse to massacre innocents. He hadn't intended for this to happen, but he had no idea Clovis would have it in him to order this kind of slaughter. And how could he have known, with the foppish way the man acted? That blond buffoon was not a killer.

Or so they had thought. Terrible miscalculation, that. "We had no idea he would be capable of this." Ohgi said, not trying to excuse the mistake so much as inform him of why it was made.

"I understand completely. The Viceroy of Area Eleven would never order this kind of slaughter. However, Clovis la Britannia is a spoiled child at heart. His upbringing as royalty means, quite simply, that he has no regard for the lives of those he has never met." The voice replied. "Now, then, on to more important matters. Will you fight with me? I know that I can defeat Clovis with the cooperation of you and your friends, however if you disagree I will simply cut my losses and leave. I'm giving you the choice to risk your lives for the common man, or save your own life at the cost of theirs. I'll give you five minutes to consult with your friends. After that time is up, I'm retreating."

Lelouch flipped a switch on the radio, silencing it. A soft, squeaky voice spoke from the top of his head. "You really know how to drop a bomb, don'cha? Heheh." The source of the voice was a small blue creature shaped like a clawed hand, with a single ruby eye and small antenna. "So, we're really gonna run for it if we can't get their help?" Tsumemon was the in-training form of Keramon. He had degenerated to conserve space.

"Yes." Lelouch replied without a moment's hesitation. "I cannot do this alone, and you and I will not be enough. If we could digivolve back into Infermon then we could crash into the G-1 base and kill Clovis, but that won't do anything except for agitating Britannia and forcing them to send a competent commander. It won't send a message, and that is the most important part of killing royalty." After all, Marianne vi Britannia had been killed by supposed terrorists who never claimed responsibility. And look how quickly she had been forgotten.

"I see." Came the response from the small digimon.

Lelouch flipped the switch on the radio once more, contacting the resistance members once more. "What is your answer?" He asked.

"We're in."

* * *

Everything was going perfectly. The rebels were caught in his sway like a raft on the tumultuous waves of the ocean, though these waves thrust them closer to their destination. Even if they didn't realize it yet. Orders spilled from his lips one after another in quick succession, and he swiftly outwitted and executed the enemy with extreme prejudice. They continuously ran headfirst into ambushes and choke-points, were gunned down the moment they spotted their foes, and were being ripped to shreds by surprisingly skilled pilots.

Lelouch had been quite happy to find that the entire group had taken turns using the Glasgow, and that while Kallen was their best, all of the others were average or slightly above it.

And speaking of Kallen being their best? She was more than just "their best". She was an absolute monster. Even in a Glasgow with only a single arm, she was running circles around trained Sutherland pilots like it was nothing.

He had found a gold mine in these terrorists. While it would take some work, each and every one of these people could excel in Knightmare combat given the time to practice. They would be a great help later down the road, especially if he could further build their trust in him.

Of course, it was about then that things went sour. "Shit!" A voice cursed over the radio. "It's some kind of fire bird or something!"

"What? A digimon? Damn it!" The redhead shouted.

"It's too fast for us to hit it, and we can't get close without it shooting fireballs at us!" Ohgi called.

"Hold you position." Lelouch broke in, calm as ever. "I will handle it."

"How the hell do you expect to "handle" that? It's a motherfuckin' PHOENIX!" The other redhead screamed.

Lelouch ignored him, making a mad dash for the coordinates. "Keramon, are you ready?" He asked, preparing to open the hatch of the Sutherland, hidden in a run down building nearby the rest of the rebels.

"Yeah, I'm ready." Tsumemon replied, not bothering to correct him.

The hatch opened, and Lelouch descended the rope while Tsumemon digivolved into Keramon and levitated slowly to the ground. "I hope this works." Lelouch muttered, placing both hands on the digivice. He attempted to grasp onto the feelings he had when they had first digivolved.

His will to live, and his will to fight. His will to protect Nunnally and his will to avenge his mother. It all came down to strength of will.

Never let it be said Lelouch vi Britannia was weak willed.

"Keramon, digivolve to..." The cocoon of data circled them, and their minds connected in a way that was entirely foreign and yet completely natural. Once more, Keramon had decided to skip the Champion stage, instead becoming a much weaker Ultimate level.

It was just something that Keramon could do. Their champion stage was basically a chrysalis, in which they gathered their power and prepared to digivolve once more into Infermon. Skipping the preparation phase resulted in a weak ultimate that was really only a match for a champion. He would have to explain it further once the situation had blown over.

"Infermon."

* * *

Clovis had gone from pleased, to panicked, and then back to pleased, and then to annoyed, back to panic, and finally to smug. The cause for his mood, in order, would be:

Attending a lovely party.

Being informed by Bartley that his Code-R project had been stolen.

Ordering the purging of Shinjuku to retrieve Code-R and remove any witnesses.

Learning that the enemy had retrieved Sutherlands and were fighting back.

Realizing that the enemy had played them for fools and that he only had five Sutherlands left of his attacking force.

And finally, sending out his trump card.

He didn't need Schneizel's new toy, he had one of his own to display. "Quite the lovely beast, isn't it?" Clovis preened, looking at the panic wrought by his Birdramon. "To think that such a creature exists, and is in my hands? It's exhilarating."

He ignored the prattling of his advisers in favor of patting himself on the back for deploying a monster like Birdramon, and not relying on his brother's experimental frame.

And then his mood shifted once more as he saw something knock his digimon from the sky, his grip on the rectangular digivice that had enslaved Biyomon tightening until his knuckles went white.

The enemy also had a digital monster. And it was strong.

Birdramon had tried, valiantly, to stay in the air. However, it was simply impossible with the spiderlike monster wrapping it's spindly legs around Birdramon's wings, sending them both crashing harshly into the ground.

It was clear that Birdramon would lose this battle, it was operating in terrain that was advantageous to it's foe and cumbersome to it. Even Clovis wasn't foolish enough to ignore that fact.

And so he allowed the signal from Lloyd Asplund to connect, and the smiling face of a silver haired man with glasses stared down at him. "Hello, your Highness. Perhaps you would reconsider my earlier offer?" He was so damnably smug. Clovis would have ruined this man had he not been sponsored, directly, by Schneizel.

"Can your toy win this for us?" He phrased it like a question to save face, but the true intent was clear. Yes, he reconsidered, and he was going to swallow his pride. Just deploy the damn thing.

"Your Highness, please. Call it the Lancelot."

* * *

The rebels were panicking when they first saw the digimon. Not just because of the fact that most champion level Digimon were worth four Sutherlands, but also because this one could fly. And it was big.

"Shit, where's the voice guy? He cut loose and run?" Tamaki growled over the radio, ducking alongside Ohgi and Sugiyama behind a partially collapsed building. They would occasionally leave cover and attempt to blast the thing out of the sky, but to no avail. It was simply too fast for them to hit with their guns.

"Phoenix Rising!" Shouted Birdramon as it flew higher into the air, smoke trailing behind it and covering it entirely. "Mach Grinder!" It screeched, diving down and grabbing Sugiyama's Sutherland by the shoulders, preparing to fly off with it and drop it from as high as possible.

"AH!" The blue haired man inside the Sutherland shouted, struggling to get the bird off of him. "It's taking me up!" He could probably stop his descent with harkens on the nearby buildings, but that would leave him a sitting duck for the flaming bird.

Thankfully, the situation never progressed that far as a white blur slammed into the side of Birdramon at ridiculous speeds, freeing Sugiyama from it's grasp where he promptly grappled a building and rappelled his he down. "What the fuck was THAT!?" He shouted at the top of his lungs, extremely thankfully that he wouldn't be meeting the Shinigami today.

"It's another digimon!" Ohgi replied quickly, watching as the smaller digimon subdued the phoenix.

After tackling the Birdramon and wrapping up it's wings, Infermon allowed gravity to do it's work as the duo fell, slamming Birdramon into the earth. "Hell's Grenade!" He shouted, pummeling the trapped digimon with bolts of energy from his mouth. The two middle legs lifted high overhead, golden glaws gleaming in the light, before plunging downward and spearing through Birdramon. And then Infermon tore them out viciously, bisecting the bird digimon in one swift movement.

He paused for a moment to absorb the data that exploded from the destroyed foe, before turning to the rebels who had watched as he tore apart the bird. "Any casualties?"

Inside of his cockpit, Ohgi flinched at hearing the digimon speak. It's voice was like two different voices meshed together, and it was rather creepy. And those green-gold eyes weren't helping matters. "None." He replied.

"Good, kekeke..." The digimon chuckled ominously. "We've routed the enemy forces, now we c-!" He was cut off as something hit him hard enough to send him flying into a building, which quickly collapsed on his head.

"SHIT!" Yoshida yelled from inside his Sutherland, being the next to go down. He ejected after the enemy grabbed his frame by the shoulders, just in time to see it rip off his arms.

"What IS this thing?" Tamaki asked, rushing headlong into the fray with his guns blazing. He blanched as the frame was covered by some sort of shield, deflecting the shots easily. "What the fuck!?" He screamed in a panic as the frame dashed towards him, blocking bullets along the way. "It's got some kind of shield!"

A harken took off his left arm, the one toting his rifle, before he decided to cut his losses and eject. The enemy was too close, had too much close combat potential, and frankly he was terrified of the monster that could block KMF Rifle shots at close range and be completely fine afterwards.

One by one the members of their resistance were taken out, but the knightmare aiming to disable rather than kill. It was lucky for them that this particular pilot didn't realize there was a purge going on.

Soon Kallen was the only one left, fiercely trying to fight the white knightmare. She was making no progress at all due to the condition of her machine, the speccs of her machine, and the worry for her defeated friends.

Salvation came in the form of four long, wiry limbs launching out of the rubble and grabbing the surprised enemy pilot. With a sound similar to that of slash harkens retracting, the main body of the digimon slammed into the side of the knightmare with enough force to send it into a building. This building was sturdier and didn't collapses, much to the annoyance of Infermon. "Seriously? I'm the only one getting a building dropped on them? That is bull."

He saw the white knight returning to the battle, and decided on a plan of action. "Retreat for now, I'll cover you. Meet up with your group and try to survive this ordeal."

And so the battle between Infermon and Lancelot picked up once more, and a certain Earl of Pudding couldn't be more satisfied with the work his baby was doing. And the devicer was still injured!

After a quick barrage of body shots from Infermon's feet, the Lancelot shook itself off in a remarkably human manner, before leaping back to clear the punch drunkeness that had arrived after being jostled around in his cockpit.

It was the that Infermon made good on his escape, more than a little punch drunk himself and with one helluva headache.

* * *

A figure walked into a darkened room, looking over it's occupants. One of them, a portly bald man, began ordering to leave. As if that parasite had the right to order him around. "Leave." Lelouch commanded, Geass blazing.

The large man left without question, ignoring the commands of Clovis to stay put. A gun was pointed at the Viceroy. "And you, order a ceasefire. Now."

Clovis grimaced, pressing the comm. switch. "All units, this is Clovis la Britannia, and I order a ceasefire at once. No more blood will be shed on this day!" He added, for posterity, "And all citizens will receive medical attention should they so desire." Maybe that would keep a bullet out of his head until the rest of the soldiers in the G-1 arrived.

The figure clapped mockingly. "Lovely performance."

"Yes, yes, it was wasn't it? Now what? Would you like some tea? Perhaps a game of chess, or should we have a few ballads? Would you care to pose for a painting of mine?" His voice was positively dripping with sarcasm.

"Chess, you said?" The figure laughed, walking further into the room, where the dim light illuminated him slightly. "That has a familiar ring to it. Though, I recall, you never could beat me as a boy." He threw the helmet off, raising his head to look Clovis in the eye with his own gleaming violet orbs. "Back at the Aries Villa, you remember?"

Clovis's face turned a pasty white, as though he had seen a ghost, before he smiled widely. It was almost as if he wasn't pointing a gun at him. "L-L-LELOUCH! We thought you were dead, how did you survive? Nunnally, how is she?" He gasped as Lelouch glared balefully at him.

"Don't you dare say her name!" Lelouch shouted. "You have no right to sully her name with the same mouth that ordered the needless deaths of countless Japanese here today! Clovis, your hands are stained with the blood of the innocent, and once I'm through you will DROWN in it!" His visage turned cold as he calmed himself.

Clovis, Schneizel, Euphemia, Cornelia, Nunnally, and Lelouch. That was the group when they were younger. The siblings closest to them, those they held dearest. Clovis had always been pompous, prone to tantrums when he lost at anything involving Lelouch. The two were rivals, despite their age gap. Lelouch, of course, was the one Clovis always strove to beat.

There was one time he had been victorious over Lelouch, and that had been because Lelouch let him win after much pestering from Nunnally. Clovis realized it after he had actually won, and the glare he had worn was glacial. Lelouch remembered well the incident that had made him respect Clovis.

_"You dare insult me like this, Lelouch!? I will NOT take a hand-out victory from YOU, Lelouch! A victory against you is worth nothing if it wasn't your best effort, and I will not stand for it! I demand a rematch, and you WILL put out your full effort or else."_

_He had never seen Clovis that emotional and known that it wasn't falsified. The prideful boy had lost that second game and smiled softly. His next words were engraved in Lelouch's mind even still. "Yes, that's better. Lelouch, if you believe in something, never hold back. To do so is an insult to yourself and everyone you care for. That goes for anything you put your mind to, Lelouch. You've the potential to change the world in ways I could only dream of, don't squander it."_

That was life advice he hadn't forgotten. He loved his half-brother. But that Clovis was dead. Lelouch didn't know when it had happened, but Clovis had changed. At first, when Clovis had been appointed Viceroy, he seemed the same. Older, yes, but still the kind and pompous fool of a brother he and Nunnally adored.

Today, when Clovis had made that announcement on the giant screen, his eyes had been cold in a way that was not Clovis. He had changed, and it wasn't for the better.

"Tell me everything you know about my mother's death. Did you have a hand in it?" Lelouch asked calmly.

"No." Clovis replied in a dull voice. "Ask Cornelia or Schneizel, they would know more than me."

Yes, that's right. Cornelia was his mother's guard captain, and Schneizel had handled transportation of her body, hadn't he? And aside from that, Schneizel always knew something. Always.

He allowed the spell to falter, looking his brother in the eyes. Those blue eyes that had once held a myriad of pleasant emotion were colder now. "Clovis, you've changed. The brother I knew wouldn't have purged an entire ghetto to hide the existence of some green haired woman. What happened to you?"

Blue eyes widened. "You've found her?" He asked. "Of course you have. Nothing is ever simple anymore." He looked at the gun pointed directly at his head, surprisingly calm in the face of death. "I have changed, haven't I, Lelouch? Nunnally would hate what I've become." He muttered. "I can't think of people as just that anymore, Lelouch. Now, it's so easy to see them as pieces to move and use and throw away as I please. I've become a monster." He laughed bitterly. "And in the end, I cannot bring myself to care. So go ahead and shoot, Lelouch. But, first, tell me. What do you plan to do?"

"I've come back from Hell, Clovis. And now, I'll change everything. The world is rotten and Britannia is the core of it. And so..." He steadied himself for a moment, and Clovis could see him choking down his emotions. That was good, hopefully Lelouch wouldn't end up like he had. Nunnally needed someone to care for her, and Clovis knew he wasn't worthy of that honor anymore.

"I will obliterate Britannia, and you will be my first step on that path." For the briefest moment before his demise, Clovis saw tears streaming down the cheeks of his little brother. And then Lelouch pulled the trigger.

"He's smiling..." Lelouch noted softly, sparing one last glance at the face of his brother. "Let's go home, Keramon."

He needed to get home. Maybe Nunnally's smiling face and the warm welcome of Sayoko would help wash away the guilt.

This was but the first step on the path of blood, and he would walk it till his goal was reached.

The world had to change, and he would be the one to change it.

Clovis was still smiling.

* * *

A.N:

Big decisions were made this chapter. Namely, Infermon rather than Kurisarimon. Long story short, writing a giant metal cocoon in a fight was a pain in my ass and it always seemed forced to me. So much so that I ent up making a mode change that was basically just Infermon but not all the way. This time I'll just be skipping Kurisarimon unless the situation demands it. And I assure you, there are still situations were Kurisarimon is useful.

I've also made some changes to Lelouch because this is an AU and I have that right. I'm throwing in another idea of mine into this story because it's easier than making an entirely new story, and still fits in well.

I've also messed with the relation with Clovis, and this is an idea that floats around from time to time. I'm trying to justify a more caring Lelouch, as a sort of contrast to several of the fics that kill off his conscience. It's a bit of character exploration, if you will. Trying to keep Lelouch in character while also letting the caring side that only Nunnally really got to see out a bit more. Of course, he'll still be merciless in some situations and it won't cloud his judgement too much more than it did in canon, because Lelouch is still determined to do what he set out to.

I'll see if it works, in the end.


	2. Chapter 2

Lelouch: The author doesn't own Code Geass or Digimon.

Demon: Which sucks, because if I owned either then I would be rich and Lelouch wouldn't have gotten fucked over quite as hard as he did. I mean, plot twists are great, but Lelouch's luck was just plain bad most of the time. I mean, he makes an attempt at humor and starts a genocide. Even my jokes aren't that bad.

Lelouch: Wait. Does that mean you're not going to make me kill Euphy?

Demon: ... Uhm. Maybe?

Lelouch: *Glares suspiciously, hand reaching towards his pocket.* Maybe?

And then Lelouch is bopped on the head repeatedly by a pico hammer, drawing his attention away so he can deal with the new threat to his reputation.

Demon: It's good to be the author.

... Holy crap, 13,000 words. Wow. Inspiration is neat.

* * *

That night, Lelouch stumbled into his humble abode long after Nunnally had fallen asleep. He had to, of course, to hide the smell of death from her. His academy uniform was stained with blood from Clovis's Royal Guard. If he could smell it, even faintly, then Nunnally would pick it up instantly. That would lead to a whole slew of questions, and Lelouch didn't want to lie to Nunnally.

He didn't think he could, to be honest.

He wasn't surprised to find cold metal at his throat after he entered the dining room. "Sayoko." He greeted.

The kunai slipped away from his throat, and his assailant moved to regard him from the front. "You're bloody." She noted simply. Shinozaki Sayoko was a beautiful woman with brown hair and dark amber eyes. Normally, she was dressed in either a maid outfit or a set of kunoichi garb. Right now, however, she was dressed in a simple pink yukata.

Lelouch shrugged. "Sorry for waking you, Sayoko." It wasn't that he was avoiding the unspoken question, he just figured apologizing for waking her up took precedence. It was quite rude of him, after all.

She sighed, shaking her head slightly. "It's not a problem, master Lelouch. Would you like to talk about it?" She figured he wouldn't, but she may as well ask him. After all, it's not ever day you come home covered in blood that's not yours.

"Yes, actually. I could use someone to talk to right now." She was shocked at his reply, but moreso at the downtrodden expression that found it's way to his face. He sighed heavily, fist clenching. "I killed people today, Sayoko. A lot of people. And I didn't care about them at all. There was one person who I killed today, though, who I can't get off of my mind."

Sayoko's expression calmed him down greatly. She was just giving him a sad, supportive smile. She understood just what it felt like to have the dead haunt you. "Why is this person haunting you, master Lelouch?" Perhaps it was something they had said, the way they had looked, how they had died, or any number of things.

"Because he was my brother."

"Oh." Well that was unexpected. Lelouch had killed his brother. "... Which one?" It may be uncouth to ask, digging deeper into the incident, but she needed to know. Lelouch had a LOT of brothers, and while one of them was in the city constantly, any of the others may have arrived on a surprise visit. And then there was the fact that the brother she was thinking of just so happened to be the Viceroy. She was almost hoping it was a different brother.

"Clovis."

Yes, that's what she figured. Rather than saying anything else, she gently wrapped her arms around the younger boy's shoulders, pulling him into a soft embrace. "I understand. Does this mean..?" She allowed the question to trail off, knowing he understood her meaning.

Releasing a ragged sigh, Lelouch leaned his head against the shoulder of the woman. "Yes. My plans are set in motion."

Sayoko was more than just a maid and retainer for Lelouch and Nunnally. The woman was practically family. She had been there for them since they had first come to stay with the Ashfords, having first worked as Milly's own personal maid. Of course, Milly had sent her to work for them not a week after the duo had arrived. In the time they had spent together, the Lamperouge siblings had learned much about Sayoko, and in return she had learned much about them.

Shinozaki Sayoko was more than just a maid in general. She was the 37th successor to the Shinozaki School of martial arts. And, in short, she was a ninja. Lelouch had been skeptical upon learning that, but after seeing his life flash before his eyes when Sayoko pinned him to a wall with a few kunai knives, his doubts disappeared alongside a few years of his life.

Of course, after learning of her heritage, Lelouch didn't treat her any differently. It was rather endearing to see that he still trusted her with his life even knowing she could take it instantly. Well, she couldn't actually bring herself to harm, let alone kill, either of her charges at this point. The thought of someone bringing harm to either of the Lamperouge siblings kindled a protective instinct in her heart. She had never had younger brothers or sisters, and these two were filling that void easily.

She would openly admit, to certain people, she loved the two of them with all of her heart. Nunnally had both Lelouch and Sayoko wrapped around her finger simply by being herself, and neither her older brother or their maid could bring themselves to care.

When it came to Lelouch, however, there was just something irresistible about him. He had a sort of charisma, a natural charm, that made people want to follow his lead. He was kind and caring, willing to go out of his way to help his friends and Nunnally. But, at the same time, he wasn't some hero trying to save everyone from everything. He stepped in to situations when his aid was necessary, and giving his aid wouldn't compromise Nunnally or him. He was determined, he was brilliant, and he was compassionate within reason.

Not to mention he was handsome, but that was better left alone for the moment. Unfortunately, "better left alone" did not mean her mind would allow that persistent little thought to go away. She sighed and just leaned deeper into the embrace. "I will stand beside you no matter what path you choose, master Lelouch."

Her breath caught in her throat when he looked up to see her eye to eye. A small, genuine smile was on his lips as a few tears fell from his eyes. That was not an expression one saw often on Lelouch vi Britannia. It was reserved, up until this point, solely for Nunnally. And even then it was on rare occasions, the type which even Sayoko didn't feel completely comfortable intruding on. That expression meant that he was grateful to wake up every day and find it's recipient greeting him. Hence, why it was reserved almost entirely for Nunnally, who was Lelouch's entire world.

She had never imagined he would look at her like that.

"Sayoko." He whispered softly. "Thank you for everything."

Much to her surprise, Sayoko found herself blushing as she answered. "You're welcome, master Lelouch."

Yes, despite it being "better left alone", Sayoko couldn't manage to completely stop her musings on how handsome her master was.

This touching scene was disturbed by a sudden movement in Lelouch's jacket. "... Don't mind me." A squeaky voice muttered, the movement ceasing. "Just your friendly neighborhood Tsumemon."

As Sayoko's face shifted to a confused expression, Lelouch sighed and began explaining the events of the day.

* * *

The next day, after a playful scolding from Nunnally about how he shouldn't gamble, Lelouch went through classes as usual. Up until, of course, the President declared an Emergency Meeting of the Student Council. (EMSC)

The EMSC was a privilege granted to the Student Council President that allowed members of the student council to excuse themselves from class with no consequence. It was only used in dire situations that could cause havoc upon the school.

In other words, it was a monthly occurrence. Whenever Lelouch or Nina hadn't had the time to look over every important document, there was bound to be something gone wrong. This month was especially bothersome, because it wasn't just a minor slip-up that the Vice President or the greenette could correct quickly.

No, this was a royal screw-up of the highest degree. "I cannot believe you didn't tell us sooner that NONE of the budgeting was done, Milly." Lelouch growled. A rolled up paper smacked him upside the head, before coming down again and summarily retreating as his teeth snapped closed on the air it had once occupied. He responded in such a primitive way because his hands were full as he wrote down various figures and such on one piece of paper, while checking his calculations via calculator. Which was more of a formality, really, but still. "You seriously couldn't have told us, say, a day earlier?" Not much time, but an extra twenty four hour cushion would have been much appreciated.

"Or even a day later, so it would be too late to deal with this and we could give up." Rivalz offered, helpfully.

That was an intriguing idea. "You know, it's not too late to do that." He noted offhandedly, before noticing Milly inhaling a large breath and quickly covering his ears.

Her ear-shattering cry of "GUTS!" was only a dull shout to him, though the others felt it clearly.

Rivalz nearly hopped out of his seat, scrambling to catch the papers he had accidentally strewn about in his rude upheaval.

Shirley was better of, just flinching and smiling good naturedly. She even seemed encouraged by the loud war-cry.

"A-ah-AH!" Nina, on the other hand, had fallen out of her seat in her alarm. The sudden shout had startled the poor girl terribly, and her wide eyes and quick breathing attested to that.

"Oh God Nina I'm so sorry!" Milly yelped, quickly making her way over to the bespectacled girl. "Are you alright?" She asked, idly checking the girl for injuries. Once she found Nina in perfect shape, she copped a feel as Milly is won't to do. Nina's face lit up in a scarlet blush and she squeaked loudly.

"Milly!" She yelped, scooting back and covering he chest protectively.

Once Nina was back in her seat and confirmed to be alright but not unmolested, the group settled in to continue their work.

But Lelouch couldn't help but throw one last barb in. "Your magic had an effect this time, Madame President." He noted sarcastically.

And poor Shirley, bless her heart, implicated herself for targeting from the buxom blonde bombshell that is Milly Ashford.

One sly wink and subtle comment led to a confused Shirley soon realizing that Milly had been undressing her with her eyes and liked what she saw.

Business as usual for the Student Council at an Emergency Meeting.

After the meeting had finished, Milly had gone off to attend to other things. The other four members of the council were walking together, chatting idly. The mess they had sorted out had taken half they day. The short break inbetween classes was often spent in the computer lab, which they were heading to at that moment.

"Our President is just a dirty old man inside." Shirley grunted. "Sullying the meeting with her dirty mind."

Nina giggled quietly, covering her mouth with her hand. "Well, that's Milly for you." She replied cheerfully.

Rivalz just shrugged his shoulders casually. "At least we got the budget sorted out."

The Vice President simply chuckled lightly at Milly's antics. "Despite her quirks, Milly is reliable in a pinch and a wonderful friend." His face broke into an annoyed frown. "However, her constant attempts to get dirt on me are tiresome."

The other three nodded sympathetically, not knowing why it was that Lelouch attracted so much of the President's attention. Lelouch knew exactly why it was, though. After all, hiding the fact that he and Nunnally were Royalty would take it's toll on Milly if she couldn't at least occupy herself with other things. Such as spreading rumors about Lelouch's various excursions into the settlement.

"Yeah, especially after I got drug into it last time." Rivalz muttered. "Why anyone would believe we were undercover operatives of ANY organization, I will never know."

Lelouch twitched, that particular incident one of his least favorite. His fanclub hadn't stopped bombarding him with inquiries for weeks. And yes, he did have a fan club. He had been certain to deny their request to become an official club before Milly spotted it, KNOWING she would accept in a heartbeat just to make them more of a nuisance to him. Amusingly enough, however, this incident had started the small "Rivalz Cardemonde" fanclub. They even had an emblem, in the shape of a light blue motorcycle on a white background. This had, of course, prompted Lelouch's fans to do the same. Their emblem was a black king chess piece on a royal purple background.

He hated being popular sometimes. It was ridiculous. Everyone on campus knew his face, name, and position on the council, save a few people who never bothered to involve themselves in anything at all.

"Whoa, they used poison gas?" The words made Lelouch snap to attention, his mind quickly deciphering the possible reasons this could be said. Moments later he came to the likely conclusion that word of the Shinjuku Massacre had gotten out, likely censored by the government. They were passing by a computer lab, and the group's attention was quickly diverted to the computer that four other students had surrounded. On it were images of the Shinjuku Ghetto, ridden with bullet holes and crumbled architecture. Several men in hazmat suits were foraging around, and the heading claimed that the area was still under the effects of poison gas and should be avoided.

"Shinjuku..?" Shirley wondered, eyes traveling to Lelouch.

"Yeah, I was nearby and heard a commotion, so I called you to see if you knew what was going on." He tried to smile reassuringly. "I'm just glad I didn't enter the ghetto myself, if these terrorists let loose poison gas."

Shirley nodded, satisfied with the answer. Nina, however, had narrowed her eyes slightly, getting the feeling there was more to the story. Rivalz had also picked up on it, and made a quick gesture with his hand.

Right hand scratch behind left ear, "Say more later". Lelouch sighed, one hand fiddling with the pocket of his pants. "Affirmative".

Originally, the secret sign language Lelouch had created was shown only to Suzaku and Kaguya, the latter having forced it from Suzaku and then strong-armed Lelouch into teaching her. For some reason, that girl had seriously wanted to get close to Lelouch. Looking back, it was kind of cute seeing how her and Nunnally vied for his attention, much like Euphie and Nunnally had back at the Aries Villa. Of course, when Euphie and Nunnally had competed for his attention, it was much fairer for the pink haired girl. Kaguya had been trying to compete with the attention of his blinded and crippled sister who was his only direct relative remaining.

After all, he had never considered the Emperor to be his father. That man was simply a sperm donor.

At any rate, the secret language had been in the hands of three young children, two of whom swore to keep it a secret. Lelouch, as creator, held the right to teach others the language. Now the list had expanded from three to six, with Sayoko, Milly and Rivalz having learned the entire language.

Sayoko knew it for obvious reasons, being the closest confidante the Lamperouge siblings had, aside from Milly. Nunnally had told her about the sign language, and she inquired about it later to Lelouch, who offered to teach her. After she had a grasp of it, and it was rather easy considering it was made up entirely of easily dismissed gestures that held different, sometimes vague, meanings. Some others were extremely specific, such as the tugging of your collar meaning "Meet me on the roof", while others were vague but easily understandable when used in certain situations. Sayoko had the entire language memorized in one week, and another two were spent practicing using each gesture as discreetly as possible. Now, it was so natural that even Lelouch sometimes had trouble picking up whether or not she was using the language.

Milly had also picked up on the language, having learned of it from Lelouch himself. She had begged him to teach her, even offering an entire weak's reprieve from her usual pranks and antics aimed at him as incentive. Obviously, Lelouch had accepted. She picked up on the language slower than Sayoko, which was to be expected considering Sayoko had been specially trained to receive and memorize orders both as a Shinobi and a Maid. However, in three weeks time she had memorized the gestures completely. However, she was not nearly as subtle in using them as Sayoko, or even Lelouch.

Rivalz... well, Rivalz was taught partly of necessity, and partly because he was Lelouch's only male friend. And, really, Rivalz was Lelouch's best friend. He had been around for years and the two had hit it off nicely. While the blue haired boy often joked about being "but a simple chauffeur", he knew that their relationship was deeper than that. The necessity had come from needing to discreetly communicate while in the middle of a chess match. It hard started with Lelouch teaching him the "Run. Now." signal to depict that a situation was going to end poorly. And, after that, he just taught him the rest for completions sake. Rivalz was amazed his friend had created an entire sign language back when he was ten. "When I was ten," he had said, "I could barely make a secret handshake. You really are something, Lelouch."

A shrill shriek from one of the girls at the computer, drowning out the various other reactions from those watching the scene, brought Lelouch out of his musings in time to see several corpses on screen. He nearly choked. 'That's the warehouse they found me in.' He thought. And indeed it was. The Royal Guard of Prince Clovis la Britannia had been removed from the scene beforehand, replaced by dead Britannian infantry. 'Probably dead Japanese dressed up like soldiers. Or the Honorary Britannians sent in to first scout for the gas.'

It was a gruesome sight, but he had seen worse. And, well, seeing the corpses for the second time while significantly further away was much less upsetting. His eyes panned over the reactions of the seven nearest to him, the four random students (only one of whom he knew, vaguely, from the photography club.) and his friends.

Rivalz had a sour expression on his face, clearly skeptical of the heading that painted the massacre as a terrorist movement being put down. His teeth grit slightly, and Lelouch realized immediately that he had spotted the few children lying in the pile of corpses. Resistance movements that had been seen throughout Area Eleven would never endanger the lives of Japanese children and civilians. Hell, many of them attempted to avoid BRITANNIAN civilians during their operations. The JLF had a remarkably low civilian casualty rate for such a large "terrorist" organization. That wasn't to say they had killed "few" Britannian non-combatants, because the numbers were in the hundreds, but it was still a small number comparatively. The Britannian Military had killed thousands upon thousands of unarmed noncombatants in Japan alone, and yesterday alone had marked the deaths of hundreds of civilians.

Shirley looked aghast, as expected. She never could stomach death, and was a naturally compassionate person. Thankfully, she was unable to spot the various small forms lying among the adults or she may have started crying on the spot.

Which, of course, brought us to Nina. Her face was pale, she was shaking, and her eyes were wide. Lelouch cringed inwardly, knowing she would spot the dead children and notice the distinct lack of weaponry on the dead civilians. Yes, she would immediately understand that this wasn't a terrorist movement, and she was also smart enough to question it.

However, unknown to Lelouch, her mind had shut down after seeing that. So much blood, dried and staining the ground. So many corpses, many in terrible condition from the high caliber bullets ripping through them. Men, women, children, the elderly, all of them in that warehouse gunned down ruthlessly by Britannian soldiers. And not one of them appeared armed. It was apalling.

And then the image changed, this time to something that invoked an even greater reaction. "Turn it OFF!" The same girl from earlier shouted, eyes clenching and covering her mouth as she began gagging. The image was now that of a man who's body had been partially crushed by fallen debris. His body had been bisected, intestines hanging from his upper half and his body broken and twisted in painful looking ways.

Shirley turned green, Rivalz cringed and had a distinct look of sympathy, and Nina...

"Ah!" Lelouch gasped, quickly moving to catch the falling girl as she fainted. The sight had been too much for her. "... Uhm. She's out cold." Lelouch noted, looking back at the startled faces of the other six. "I'll take her to the nurse." He offered, lifting her bridal style and heading out into the hallway.

As he walked, Lelouch idly wondered if Nina had caught the same thing he had when looking at the image that had appeared.

Namely, the fact that he hadn't been crushed by debris at all. If one looked, they could see that the building the man had been against was barely even a two story home, that was almost entirely gone due to the wear and tear of time and earlier attacks on it. There was nothing for him to have been crushed by, as the house had fallen apart far before yesterday. And the small crater and distance between the upper and lower halves implied that whatever had crushed him was much more forceful than a chunk of concrete falling twenty feet.

Adding that to the nearby tire marks, one might get the feeling he had been stepped on by a Knightmare frame.

That is, of course, if one expected the government to lie and cover things up to hide their sins from the public. Coincidentally, Lelouch, Rivalz, and Nina did, each for their own reasons.

* * *

Lelouch sat beside one of the beds in the nurse's office with a bored look on his face. Just as he arrived to drop Nina off, the nurse had to take off to deal with some situation or another. He believed she said something about the equestrian club.

While he could have just locked the door, it locked from the inside and the nurse had the key, and left, Lelouch didn't want Nina to wake up in the nurses office all alone. And, so, he decided to wait with her until either she woke up or the nurse returned.

This gave him time to think, though, so it was fine. Or, rather, it had been until his thoughts drifted to Clovis. He remembered putting the gun to his head, and then blood... Lelouch wasn't squeamish. It wasn't the blood that bothered him, nor the dead look in the eyes of a human when they died. It was the fact that that was Clovis's blood. That those dull eyes were once full of life that belonged to his brother.

How many more of his siblings would have to die? Would he have to kill Cornelia? Possibly, leaning on probable. What of Schneizel? He would almost have to, either that or use this Geass on him. And then there was Euphy.

Lelouch did not believe in God. At least, not as it was portrayed by humanity. The idea of a higher power seemed more likely now that he had attained this nearly godlike power, the ability to command anyone who's eyes he met to perform any action he wanted them to. To bend people to his will... Surely, it was godly.

That being said, Lelouch prayed to whatever higher power out there that he never have to kill Euphemia. Lelouch could move past the death of Clovis. The brother he had known had changed for the worst and admitted so before his death. Power had corrupted him.

Euphemia hadn't even been presented to the public, yet. They were aware of her existence, but she had done nothing to gain attention. She had no power to corrupt her. She would be the same wonderful, sweet, kind and caring sister he had missed for all these years. And he didn't want to kill her. He would do everything in his power to keep her safe once he began to walk this path of blood.

Cornelia and Schneizel were likely to die. He understood this fully. If he wanted to topple Britannia, these two were fundamentally important to that. If he couldn't get them on his side without Geass, he would need to kill or capture them both. And capturing Cornelia would be next to impossible, as would capturing Schneizel.

He would try not to kill them, he would try to capture them. But in the end he would not go too far out of his way to do so, despite his feelings for them. Why must the few members of his family that he actually cared for be so deeply involved with Britannia? Had this been Castor or Pollux, he wouldn't even need to worry about killing them. Those two were more interested in science, last he saw, and he heard nothing new of them since. He wouldn't need to kill Odysseus, either, but the man had no significant meaning to him. He was kind, but they were simply too far apart in age for them to find anything relevant to speak about.

And then his thoughts drifted back to Clovis. Memories of the two playing together as boys, of posing for some of Clovis's first paintings. When he had first decided to paint, it was clear he had a talent. His art had been lovely for a child of his age, and so he practiced and practiced at the one thing he could outdo Lelouch in thoroughly. Lelouch was the driving factor behind Clovis's desire to paint up until they had been seperated.

He recalled the pranks they had pulled on the others. His mother's Royal Guard often found themselves victim to the whims of the dastardly duo of princes, their various hijinks forever embedded into the hearts and souls of their victims.

Especially the they had placed oranges all over the Villa in places frequented by the youngest guard, Jeremiah something... ah, Gottwald! Jeremiah Gottwald. He had a potent dislike of the fruit, having grown sick of it since he had been raised on a plantation of them. The look of sickness on his face as he found every one of his posts scented like the citrus fruit was priceless.

Of course, Lelouch had apologized to Gottwald afterwards. He genuinely liked that particular guard, who was willing to oblige him to games of chess when asked. The other guards would too if he asked, but Gottwald had always been happy to do so. He had been decent at the game, steadily improving just from facing Lelouch, but he never won. Or came close.

The one time he had looked distraught when asked to play a game of chess was when Lelouch had managed to get a hold of a set of chess pieces. In orange. It was easy for a prince to have things like this made for him, and Jeremiah had lost that game more quickly than normal due to his distaste for the color messing with him.

The only time the man could stand orange was when he looked at his eyes, because they reminded him of his mother. He had her eyes. Lelouch remembered that, as it was one of the few times he had gotten Jeremiah to open up. He had always been so formal, almost afraid to interact with the young prince. The chess games had loosened him up greatly, and he eventually told the young prince more about himself.

It was good to remember Jeremiah Gottwald. It kept his mind off of...

Clovis.

Lelouch sighed. He hated his mind sometimes, always having to think and think and think. He couldn't simply force his mind blank. While he could handle plotting out several different outcomes to the same situation at the same time, he couldn't just clear his head. It was such a pain when there were things like this to think about.

Clovis. Those dead eyes... his brother's dead eyes. He had loved his brother dearly when they were young, and it hand't changed much even after seeing what Clovis was capable of. He loved his brother, and despite his crimes, Lelouch could never stop loving him. It hurt to have to kill him, and he had left the G-1 quickly before vomiting until there was nothing in his stomach, only taking the time to hide himself in a nearly collapsed building.

The blood blossoming from the back of his skull, splattering the wall. It sickened him, and he nearly wretched right there. "Damn it..." He muttered. "Damn it. This isn't the time..."

"T-the time for what?" A soft voice asked, concern evident. "Are you alright, Vice President?" Nina had woken up.

He tried to change the subject, turning to face her with his usual disarming smile, before he realized his mistake. When had he started crying? He hadn't even noticed...

Nina's eyes widened. "L-Lelouch... you've been crying. What's wrong?" Nina had never seen Lelouch cry before. Ever. Very few people had. Seeing tears falling from those lovely violet eyes was almost terrifying. "P-please, you c-can tell me..."

Lelouch sighed. She was being genuine, it wasn't like Nina to falsify concern, but he couldn't just tell her. That would mean revealing the fact that he was royalty, the fact that he had killed Clovis, and be a dead giveaway for when he actively began opposing Britannia. So, what could he tell her, then? It wasn't like he could brush this off, everyone who knew him knew he didn't cry often. And never over trivial things.

Shinjuku, then. Yes, that would work. He sighed. "I lied earlier, Nina. I was in Shinjuku yesterday." Her eyes widened, and he continued on. "Rivalz and I had an accident, and the drivers of the truck behind us swerved and hit a building. I went down to check on them, and got knocked into the back of the truck. Come to find it was being driven by rebels." He paused briefly to allow that to sink in. "There was a spherical container in the truck, with what appeared to be vents on the upper half, a tarp covering a Glasgow, and not much else. Eventually, we made it to the abandoned subway tunnels, the driver must have been injured because we stopped suddenly, and the side of the truck opened." He stopped once more.

Just how much should he tell her? Should he reveal that there was no poison gas? Nina had always been xenophobic, the girl hadn't even traveled outside the Tokyo settlement once since her arrival as a child. Generally speaking, she tolerated Britannian strangers much better than foreigners, likely due to the propaganda depicting them as the light of the world. Was he really willing to tear down her beliefs of their society?

But, at the same time, Nina was a smart girl. She had been questioning the government already, especially after witnessing the aftermath of the slaughter of Shinjuku. And, he couldn't stand seeing such a brilliant mind blindly following Britannia. He knew for a fact that Nina would accomplish much in her life, already she was working on a project so advanced that he could just barely understand it. And if nothing changed, she would hand that over to Britannia without a second thought. And if he knew his homeland, they would find a way to weaponize it.

"Nina, there was no poison gas." He continued after making his decision. "There was no terrorist insurrection in the Shinjuku ghetto. Almost all of those killed yesterday were innocent noncombatants."

Nina recoiled as if struck, her voice coming out in a hoarse whisper. "Then why?" She asked.

"The truck contained the capsule that was said to hold the poison gas. It opened after the side of the truck retracted. It wasn't poison gas, it was a green haired woman dressed in a straight-jacket. Clovis ordered the purge of Shinjuku to retrieve a personal prisoner." While he understood, now, just why Clovis had kept the woman captive, he was still bitter over the fact that so many innocents died just to keep her existence secret. And now she was dead anyway. "That's why I was crying, Nina. I was in that warehouse we saw on the computer, and I heard the screams of those people as they were gunned down. I was lucky they hadn't seen me."

The bespectacled girl frowned. "B-but, you're a Britannian. They wouldn't kill you." Surely they wouldn't, Britannian soldiers were supposed to protect Britannians.

"Nina, you're a smart girl." She blushed, fiddling with her skirt. "Prince Clovis ordered a purge of the Shinjuku Ghetto. Everyone inside was supposed to die. Even an unfortunate Britannian student. My death would have been blamed on terrorists and used to add to the anti-Eleven sentiment." She flinched at the word Eleven. He knew why.

Her mother had been killed in a terrorist attack. Nina's mother had been a genius, much like her daughter. Of course, due to this, she was often doing business with Britannia's finest, the military. The Japan Liberation Front had launched an offensive, striking the relatively small base while their military might had still been strong. The entire base had been wiped out, and Layla Einstein had been killed in the crossfire.

This was one of the only decisive victories the JLF had in seven years, and it was nothing but a blitzkrieg on a small military base.

In addition to that, Milly once mentioned that Nina had been to the ghettos before. She didn't know much about the incident, not wanting to pry into Nina's life, but Lelouch had always worried. He wasn't sure why Nina would go into the ghettos, but if she had he could only imagine what had happened to her. A young Britannian girl wandering the ghettos all by herself was not a comforting thought. Regardless, he had left it at that.

Nina had reacted far differently than he had when put in a similar situation. Rather than respond with anger, she did so with fear. It had been much worse before, but having met and interacted with Sayoko for years had dulled her fear. Enough that she was able to see just how horrifying the deaths of those in the Shinjuku ghetto were.

"H-how did you get out?" She whispered. She had never thought the Britannian military would harm Britannian civilians. She had never thought Prince Clovis would order a purge just to retrieve a single prisoner. Her beliefs were being torn down, slowly.

Here, Lelouch frowned. "Prince Clovis ordered a ceasefire. I slipped in with the crowds leaving the ghetto and left."

Nina's eyes narrowed a bit in thought. "But why would he order a ceasefire, if he was the one who ordered the purge?"

"I don't know. Either he had a change of heart and realized that these were innocent people he was slaughtering, or he was forced by a rebel who managed to infiltrate the G-1 command base he was in." He grimaced, remembering quite clearly which one of the two had happened.

She chewed her bottom lip nervously. "I see..."

He sighed, looking over at her. "Well, we should get back to the others. We've been gone for about an hour, I'd say. You were out for a while."

"Ah, you're right." Nina agreed, standing up slowly, as though afraid she would pass out again.

Lelouch smirked at her. "If you like, I could carry you again." He offered.

Nina's face went scarlet. "N-no! I mean, I-I'll be fine."

As they left the nurses office, Nina couldn't help but wonder why everyone felt the need to tease her.

Lelouch, however, was wondering why he didn't do it more often.

* * *

Thanks to Nina fainting, and Lelouch skipping class to keep her company, it was now lunch time. He and Nina were heading towards the usual spot the Student Council took to have their lunch, a picnic table beneath a large tree. While being popular was a pain, being a member of the student council had it's benefits for sure.

As he and Nina walked, he couldn't help but notice a shock of red hair in the middle of a few less interesting girls. He quickly hid the surprised look that had come to his face, hoping Nina hadn't seen it. He didn't need yet another slew of questions to answer. Especially not if he was right, and he knew he was. 'That's why she was so familiar.' He realized.

Kallen Stadtfeld, frequently absent due to a recurring sickness, and yet her grades were still among the highest in her classes. Heiress to the Stadfeld family, and the fortune that came with it. At first glance, she seemed normal enough. But she was acting and Lelouch picked up on it easily. Nothing about her sick facade seemed natural.

Unknown to Lelouch, Nina had spotted the brief flicker of surprise before he concealed it. This had prompted her to follow his eyes, and she realized he was discreetly observing Kallen Stadfeld. "S-see something you l-like?" She asked, attempting to tease him back after his earlier shot about carrying her. Of course, it backfired horrendously for her when he simply looked back to her with a raised eyebrow and a coy smile.

"Yes, now that I'm looking at you." He replied. That should distract her enough that she wouldn't question his earlier look of surprise upon seeing Kallen, or his slight scrutiny of the redhead.

That, and the fact that Nina looked cute when she was blushing. Honestly, he saw why Milly spent so much time flirting or teasing people. This was just too much fun. He was going to have to start doing this more often.

"I-I, umm, b-but..." Nina was trying to form a coherent response. She had thought her little jab would at least have some effect on Lelouch, but she didn't think he would turn it back on her. And... was he being serious? He hadn't sounded like he was joking, but Lelouch rarely did. It was why a good deal of his jokes were taken the wrong way. He hadn't been using that sarcastic drawl he answered Rivalz with all the time, either.

After another few moments of watching Nina flounder about for an adequate response, he decided to take pity on her and change the subject. "Come on, we're almost to the table." He noted, pointing towards said table. From a door on the other side of the courtyard, Rivalz wandered out and waved. Shirley followed directly behind him and waved aswell, beckoning them over.

"A-ah, right." She finally managed to get herself under control. 'He was just joking, is all. It's nothing. Why would he like me when he has Shirley?' It was actually a bit disappointing, in a way. Shirley was much prettier than her, with those bright green eyes, long orange hair, wonderful bust... Soon, she caught herself staring at the orangette and swiftly looked away, lest her thoughts go deeper into uncharted territory. She'd been doing that a lot, recently. And she'd been secretly enjoying the "attention" Milly tended to give her, much to her embarrassment. As though to send her mind deeper into the gutter, she briefly wondered how it would feel if Lelouch had been the one to grope her earlier. One thought led to another, and she could feel the blood rushing to her face. Thankfully, her thoughts were interrupted before she could get too far into one of her fantasies.

"Nina, you're okay!" Shirley exclaimed, hugging her. "I was so worried when you fainted." She released the blushing girl, smiling kindly at her.

"Hey! I was worried too, ya'know." Rivalz pointed out, throwing an arm over her shoulder. The other arm was thrown over Lelouch's. "If you got sick, it would just be Lelouch around to fix our messes. And then we'd be screwed."

Nina took this as the sincere gesture of concern it was meant to be. "I-I'm fine. I guess that picture was too much for me to stomach."

Rivalz grimaced, and Shirley turned slightly green. "Yeah. I can see why." He replied. His expression turned a bit harsh as he continued speaking. "The guy from photography club seemed to think it was cool. Said something about how he'd have to go check the place out once the cleared out the gas."

Nina shivered slightly at the mention of someone venturing into the ghettos, though Rivalz and Lelouch were the only two to notice. Rivalz because his arm was still over Nina's shoulder, and Lelouch because he was aware of the fact that Nina had, apparently, made an outing into the proverbial badlands. This seemed to point towards Milly's information being correct.

* * *

That night, he came home, had dinner with his little sister, and promptly retired to his room.

Lelouch's room was average all around. A few small bookshelves placed against one wall, a desk placed just beside a window with the curtains drawn. Nothing special about it, aside from the bed. Not so much the bed, as what one could find on the bed.

Keramon was lazing about, in rookie form, simply because he had nothing better to do. He peered at Lelouch with as serious a look as something with a name derived from the onomatopoeia of cackling could. "Lelouch, we need to talk. You and I are both missing pieces of information the other can provide, and I was unwilling to ask yesterday due to your state of mind. But it can't be put off for long, or something will happen that you'll be unprepared for."

"I understand. What do you want to know?" Lelouch asked.

Keramon shifted from a lying position into what passed for a seated position for him. "First off, how long ago were Digimon created?"

Lelouch raised an eyebrow at the seemingly odd question, but he answered nonetheless. "Approximately seven years, the first reported appearance was a few months before the invasion of Japan."

It was Keramon's turn to look incredulous. "Only seven years? It's been several hundred years in the Digital World, Lelouch. I knew time moved differently between the two, but this is far beyond my expectations." That was a very interesting tidbit. "Alright, next question. How often do Digimon breach?"

"The rate of bio-emergence has been steadily increasing over the years, however the breaches aren't concentrated on any particular area." Lelouch replied.

"And what happens to those that do breach?" Keramon asked.

"If the Britannian's get to them, they are often enslaved by Britannian digivices. If not, they are destroyed. Rare occasions point to them either destabilizing and returning from whence they came, or befriending a local human and sticking around. The Chinese Federation has a major deterrent to invasion in the form of a Black Gabumon capable of reaching Mega level, and it fights alongside them out of choice. After the original appearance of this Black Metal Garurumon where it defeated the Luciano Bradley and his Myotismon, Britannia has refrained from any overly aggressive moves."

"Oh wow. A Black Gabumon, huh? That's interesting. The Celestial Empire has been hunting them down for the past century or so." Keramon noted. "I'll give you some insight to the condition of my world, now. There are basically two factions of the Dig-world. The Celestial Empire... and everyone else. The Empire is full of Digimon who are pretty much enslaved by loyalty to their Lord. Most never see their Lord, and he's largely considered the strongest Digimon in existence. Of course, this is debatable, but with an entire army of various digimon of a Celestial variety, alongside a "privileged" few other types, no one bothers to question it to their faces unless they're already in battle." He paused to let Lelouch absorb this, before continuing. "The other various factions are split amongst the four Digital Sovereign and the Seven Demon Lord Digimon. While the Empire controls about half of the digital world, the rest is under control of these two factions. They are very loosely allied, so as to keep the Empire from running them down, but quite separate. They're not friends, but they're not enemies. Generally, the digimon of a darker nature, such as my own species, seek refuge with the Seven. Various other types go to the Sovereign. The Seven Demon Lord Digimon managed to construct a kingdom in which we darker digimon live in relative peace."

"And the Sovereign have a similar kingdom?" Lelouch asked.

"Yep." Keramon replied, picking up his story once more. "It's not just the Seven and the Sovereigns, or the Lord. Each kingdom has it's own powerful groups of digimon. The Seven have not only themselves, but the Dark Masters. They're four powerful Mega level digimon who've made their homes on a mountain they had literally twisted together through their combined might, each spiraling strip representing one of the four. Machinedramon has an urban city-scape, Puppetmon has his forests, Piedmon has a wasteland at the tip of the mountain where his castle is, and Metal Seadramon managed to screw with the flow of the oceans to the point that he made an upward flowing waterfall as the entrance to his particular domain. The Sovereign have their Devas and a couple of the Ancients, the Empire has their Olympians and the rest of the Ancients."

"I see." Lelouch noted. That was interesting, certainly, but where was this going?

"I can tell you're getting impatient, so I'll cut it short. Lelouch, the digital world is tearing itself apart due to an Empire similar to Britannia but even less tolerant. This means more and more digimon are going to be breaching to escape it all. And unfortunately for us, Digital Fields are attracted to digivices like yours. That one isn't an artificial tool made to enslave digimon, it's an artifact that can bring the powers of Digimon to new heights when in the hands of a human. Digimon seeking power are gonna start popping up, and for every one that we don't bring down, that's another that Britannia may end up enslaving for their own uses."

"You have got to be kidding me." Lelouch muttered dryly.

"'Fraid not." Keramon replied sympathetically. "However, on the bright side, if we manage to destroy rampaging digimon then I can absorb their data to get stronger."

"Hm, at least something useful could come from this. From now on, I suppose I'll have to keep you with me incase these digital fields crop up. How to do it without being noticeable is the issue. While I hid you in my jacket before, it was obviously uncomfortable for you. I suppose I'll use a duffel bag from now on, I can just wave it off if anyone asks questions and it's big enough to hide you comfortably. I'll even pack a small pillow for you, if you like." He sewed from time to time, and had a few older projects of his that fit the bill. At least the little digimon would have a comfortable dwelling. If a bit dark. "By the way, one of the terrorists from Shinjuku is hiding out as a student here. I've managed to draw suspicion onto myself, unfortunately. So, I'll be confronting her directly tomorrow. I'll need you with me in case things go south, this Geass power of mine only works once per person."

"Kekeke... I got your back, partner."

* * *

He had decided that the direct route was the best route for this particular situation. And so he had simply asked Kallen to accompany him to the student council club room, where Milly threw her extravagant parties. Not that Kallen would know, since she had yet to attend one.

"Wow." She muttered in her softer "sick" voice, attempting to seem normal and yet it was threatening at the same time. Something about the tone of her voice, her stance, and the slight glare she was leveling him when she thought he wasn't looking. It gave off an unintentional air of threat, which Lelouch picked up on easily. She was too easy to read. "I didn't even know this room existed."

"This is the club room. The various balls and parties the President organizes are held here. But, otherwise, it goes unused." And next she would seek confirmation that the area was secure, before her stance would become ever so slightly more threatening.

"We won't be disturbed, then?" She asked, her tone taking on a sharper quality. She shifted slightly out of her sickly slouch, into a more healthy stance.

Yes, she was just _too_ easily read. "No, we'll have ou-!" He was cut off by a sudden voice.

"Here it is!" Shirley yelled, at the very top level of the room. She was holding up a small chip, likely something of Nina's. "I found it, this is it right?" Her voice echoed throughout the room.

His thoughts were confirmed as the bespectacled greenette walked up and gratefully accepted the chip. "Thank goodness you found our lab data."

"Yeah! My ass is killing me." And there was Rivalz.

From the main door, Milly walked in pushing a tray of various foods. "Were you able to find it? I finished up on my end, shall we dig in?" She began settling the food on a table, back turned to the rather stupefied duo who had originally come here to settle something with the potential to turn bloody.

"Uhm... Milly? What exactly is going on here?" Lelouch asked, playing innocent.

"Oh? I thought you knew? We're inducting Kallen into the student council, I figured that's why you brought her." Her smile turned mischievous. "Or, did the two of you come here for some... _other _reason, hm?" It was clear what she meant.

Kallen had the decency to blush, but Lelouch was unphased. He smiled. "Yes, it seems you caught us red handed." He joked.

Kallen immediately went red and began spluttering out some reasoning about having wanted Lelouch to tutor her, and being too embarrassed to ask him in front of her classmates. Luckily, Milly decided to drop the matter as she explained that her grandfather, the Principle, had recommended Kallen join the council due to her poor health but exemplary grades. "Oh, and I'm Milly by the way. The President of the Student Council."

It was then that the other three greeted her, Rivalz jogging up with the girls directly behind him. "Hi, I'm Rivalz, the Secretary. If there's anything you need, I'm your guy."

Shirley picked up next, smiling brightly as she announced "I'm Shirley, a member of the swim club. It's nice to meet you."

Finally, Nina chimed in. "Uhm, hi. I'm Nina."

It was then that the sound a motor attracted everyone's attention, all of them turning to the new entrant to the room. "Uhm, I'm sorry, but could one of you put these on the table?"

As Shirley moved to help the younger girl, Lelouch had made his first really visible reaction throughout the entire ordeal. "Nunally?" He asked. "What are you doing here?"

Kallen gasped slightly, this had been the first time she had seen the young girl. Or Lelouch reacting in such a way.

"That's Lelouch's sister." Milly pointed out.

"I'm still in the middle school group, so I can't be an official member of the council yet." Nunally stated cheerfully.

Rivalz laughed, walking over towards her. "You're an honorary member in our books." He responded.

And then, with a conspiratory laugh he presented something from beneath one of the tables. "Let's kick off this party." He exclaimed, placing a bottle of chapagne on the table. "With a toast."

Nina, ever the responsible one, seemed concerned. "B-but, we're on the Student Council. We shouldn't..."

Rivalz grinned once more, this time a disarming smile. "Relax. It's sparkling cider." He assured her. However, he didn't sound too trustworthy at the moment.

And with that said, Shirley took action, attempting to retrieve the bottle from him. "Lelouch! Heads up!" He shouted, tossing the bottle like a foot ball to Lelouch.

"Hm?" He murmured, reaching out lazily to catch the flying bottle. He noticed once it was in his hand that the pressure seemed to be building up. In the few seconds it took Shirley to reach him, Lelouch had already devised a plan to remove the threat of Kallen peacefully. And so he angled the bottle towards the red-head discreetly, before being tackled by Shirley. As he fell, he laughed internally at how well this was going.

If this played out like it should, Kallen would swat away the flying cork of the bottle out of instinct. With the threat of her cover being blown, she would stop for a second to make up an excuse, allowing the fluid from the bottle, cider or otherwise, to douse her. Aside from the fact that soaking Kallen with the chapagne would make her clothes cling to her lovely frame and give him a wonderful view, it served the purpose of getting her to clean off in the shower. The bathroom had a phone. He would use this opportunity to make "The Voice" seem even more well informed, while covering his own tracks.

So, it was with an internal grin and an external look of surprise that he watched Kallen stiffen as the cold liquid covered her entirely, making her shirt cling tightly to her large bust.

It was good to be a genius.

* * *

"I'm sorry about that. They can get carried away at times." Lelouch said to Kallen, dropping off the clothes he had retrieved for her to wear. "I hope you're alright with wearing some of my casual clothes. Milly and Shirley's wouldn't fit, and Nina..." He trailed off, rather than pointing out the obvious. Nina's breasts were the smallest of the four girls.

That didn't stop Milly from groping them, though. "That's fine. It's okay to cut loose every once in a while, I suppose. By the way, that was fast. You ran all the way to the boys dorm and back?" She found that hard to believe. He was so scrawny looking he probably couldn't make that run one way or the other.

"Actually, I live here. You see, it would be hard for my sister to live off in the dorms. The principle lets us stay here as a favor." He turned and prepared to exit, but was stopped by the redhead calling out to him. "Hm? Do you need something else?" He asked.

"Uhm, yeah. Could you hand me that pink pouch over there?" Kallen requested.

"Sure." He smiled, picking up the item in question. 'Just as I thought. A switchblade hidden inside. Clever.' He flicked the knife out, a brow raising questioningly. "Interesting toy, miss Stadtfeld." He noted, removing the knife from the pouch before holding it out for her to take. Knife or no, Kallen still grabbed him by his arm. However, without her means of keeping him hostage easily, the girl had to resort to more drastic measures.

After a brief struggle (one that Lelouch didn't even pretend to try to win), Kallen had pinned Lelouch against the wall of the shower and was straddling him, an arm placed against his throat. The pressure wasn't very noticeable, but the message was clear. She had him where she wanted him. Or so she thought. This position had left Lelouch's arms free, seeing as how she believed him to be quite weak physically. So did everyone, really. He had to thank Sayoko for convincing him to learn a bit from her.

He was no shinobi (AN: Though that idea floats through my head so much I'll end up writing it, I'm sure.) but he knew enough to use Suzaku's own momentum from his spin kick against him, had a fast short-term sprint, though he lacked stamina to run that fast for too long, and was combat savvy enough to realize he could bust out of Kallen's hold quite easily if need be. He was stronger then he looked, which was the intention behind the special exercises she had taught him. Grueling though it may have been, he was better for it in the end.

That, and the additional comfort of Tsumemon being in the same room and ready to pounce on the girl, calmed Lelouch enough to just relax and enjoy the fact that there was a wet, naked Kallen straddling him in such a way that nothing was hidden. The best part was that he was so discreet about his ogling her that the girl hadn't even realized he was doing it. "You certainly are a live-wire." He noted.

She glared at him. "Were you the one in Shinjuku?" She asked, exerting a bit of pressure against his throat, but not enough to cut off his response.

"Why do you want to know?" He asked, annoying her intentionally. "Is there something wrong with Shinjuku?" That was a rather low blow, he realized. Of course there was something wrong with Shinjuku.

"Don't. Answer my question. With another question." She emphasized her sentences by pushing a bit more on his throat with each one. By this point it was difficult to breath. "Yes. Or. No." This time it was just for dramatic effect.

The phone rang. Right on time. He looked her in the eye, calmly. "If one of us doesn't get it, someone will come." He noted.

Kallen growled, grasping his shirt with one hand and wrapping the other around his neck in a choke-hold of sorts. She stood, lifting him along with her. This was a relatively slow process that ended up pressing their bodies close together, something Kallen was still to in the zone to care about, and that Lelouch was simply enjoying. His hands were still free and that meant he could escape her easily if the need arose.

He picked up the phone, answering casually despite the situation. "Hello, this is the Ashford Academy student council. How may I- Oh?" He narrowed his eyes. "It seems he wants you. Perhaps a friend?"

Kallen blinked. If it was her step-mother, Lelouch would know it. And her step-mother was the only one she knew with the number for the Academy and not her cell phone. So, a friend... the Voice?

But, she couldn't let go of her hostage... "Could you put the phone to my ear, I'm afraid my hands are busy." She asked him, kindly but with a distinct edge to it that he recognized.

Lelouch turned, slowly, just enough that his hand placed the phone to her ear. It was a good thing he had given a cushion of ten seconds on the recording before saying his piece.

"Tokyo tower. Come alone." Those were the only two, distinctive, words he heard from the phone. Granted, he knew the entire message already, so it was no big deal.

"Hey! Hold on, how did you order that cease fire!?" She yelled, as the phone cut off. She had been so quick to act that she had actually released Lelouch. In what seemed like the span of two seconds, Lelouch struck.

He grabbed the chord of the phone, pulled it taught, and slipped behind the distracted Kallen fast enough to circle it around her neck tightly. He pulled back slightly, showing that he was nowhere near as lenient as she was in a similar situation. Not willing to allow even the slightest chance of escape, more as a show of dominance so that the girl would be wary of assaulting him again, he kicked her legs out from under her and eventually ended up with her in his lap, his legs crossed over her own to prevent her from moving them. Both hands had the chord pulled just tightly enough to show that he could cut off her supply of oxygen in an instant.

The whole thing had taken about four seconds, two for the fall and another two for the set up. He leaned forward, whispering into her ear. "Ceasefire, huh? Seems someone likes to play a dangerous game."

Kallen wracked her brain, searching for some excuse to get her out of this situation. Damn it, how the fuck had she let this happen? Some Brit bastard had seriously gotten the drop on her like this? The fucking chord was strong too, she couldn't just rip through it like other phone chords. Why the hell was it like that?

"The chord is thicker than usual since it's in a bathroom, incase you were wondering. After an incident where a student had nearly died, the Principle had any phone near a body of water insulated. Thus, the chord is thick enough that you can't break it without running the risk of me choking you out first."

Cheeky fucker could read minds too? Great. Just fucking great. And even worse, she had just realized she was naked and sitting in the fuckers lap with his groin pressed against her ass, and his hot breath a steady presence by her ear. How the fuck did she get into this mess?

"Kallen. I'm going to let you go now. We'll keep this incident between the two of us." What? He was letting her off? Why? "I figure you're wondering why, right? Well, it's simple, really. I'm a student, not an assassin. This is just a precaution so that you don't grab that knife and kill me. To answer your question earlier, I brought up Shinjuku because there are videos on the web that are sickening to watch and extremely popular right now. I nearly gagged and poor Nina actually fainted after seeing one. I just wanted to warn you about it."

Right, that was great and all, and the pressure on her throat had let up enough that she realized he hadn't even managed to leave a red mark somehow. What the fuck was he, a ninja or something? She spoke. "I see. So, this never happened? Just like that?"

His voice turned cold, but his breath was still hot against her ear. "Provided you don't attempt to harm any members of the council, myself, and especially Nunally. I'm a student, but I'm willing to kill you right now if you can't promise me this."

"Why would you trust a promise from someone who was just trying to hold you hostage?" She asked, actually feeling a shiver run down her spine from the positively glacial tone of his voice.

His voice warmed a bit. "Did you know that as the Vice President, I'm able to bypass various privacy measures of the school? Being a competent hacker never hurts, of course."

What the fuck was he bringing that up for? "Where are you going with this?" She asked, teeth gritting as she was forced to endure the humiliation of being his captive a bit longer.

"I can take your word, because I know from experience how much honor means to the Japanese."

She gasped, suddenly humiliation was overrun by terror. He knew she was a half-blood, and had more than enough evidence to figure out she was up to something clandestine. If he was as smart as he seemed to be, he may have put together the whole story. She was beginning to feel helpless, even though his grip on her neck had slackened. She knew he could react fast enough to counter anything she tried.

"Do I have your word that you will not harm any of the individuals I listed?" He asked once more, actually leaning his chin on her bare shoulder. The contact startled her.

What the hell was he on about now? He couldn't actually be planning to let her go off of some stupid promise? Or... did he really that she would honor that promise? Better yet, would she? She came to the realization that, yes, if she made this promise she would keep it until she had no choice but to break it. She gasped slightly, as he actually nuzzled into her neck affectionately. "H-hey! What the fuck are you doing?" She questioned.

"Sorry, couldn't help myself." He didn't sound sorry at all. "You're just to beautiful to resist, I suppose. Now, do you swear not to harm Nunally, the council, or myself?"

She calmed down, telling herself to just ignore the fucking pervert and make the damn promise so she could put her clothes back on. "Yes." She answered solemnly, as she took her word very seriously. "I agree, now let me go you damn perv."

Much to her surprise, he laughed sincerely. "I'm glad to see you're still so energetic despite the circumstances." He released her, quickly, and she noticed something. He wasn't being careful about it at all. Well, no, he was actually being quite gentle in removing the cord from her neck. It was the fact that he wasn't guarding himself at all as he did so.

'He seriously trusts my word so much that he let his guard down, even after all that?' She pondered.

Lelouch realized he was giving off that feeling right now, and it was exactly what he wanted. He was, actually, quite prepared for her to go back on her word. What the girl hadn't noticed throughout their exchange was that he had acquired her knife at some point during it. It was hidden within his sleeve, but still open. "This never happened, Kallen." He said. Then, as if rethinking his decision, he amended his statement. "Well, I'm sure the part about you naked in my lap or straddling me can still have happened if you want." He shrugged. "Those were certainly my favorite parts." He had undone the cord around her neck, and had replaced the phone on it's hook. He was now standing with his back turned to her, a few feet away.

"Pervert!" She muttered angrily, covering herself. She noticed, quickly, that Lelouch's clothing was soaked. "How the hell do you intend to explain that, genius?" Kallen asked, gesturing to the soaked clothing before realizing that doing so had left one of her breasts visible again and covering it quickly.

"Oh? This?" He asked, gesturing towards himself. "I'll just change into the other uniform I've been carrying in my bag. No big deal." With that, he began unbuttoning his jacket. "While I never thought I would need it for this situation, having a spare uniform is always useful."

Kallen's eyes widened and she blushed. "H-hey you perv, keep your goddamn clothes on!"

He returned her look with a slight grin. "You don't want to return the favor of me seeing you naked? I feel insulted." He chuckled at the atomic blush. "You know, the shower is right there. Just draw the curtain again. And finish up quickly or Milly may come check up on you. And I assure you, she's handsier than I am."

* * *

The two were now walking down the halls of Ashford, chatting idly. Lelouch had apologized for being so rough, which lead to an angry blush from Kallen and him being told to shove it. He had simply chuckled and mentioned that her sick facade seemed so unbelievable now that he had seen the real Kallen. His statement of liking this one better had elicited an embarrassed flush from the girl, before she covered it up with another outburst of anger.

It was like poking a beehive, he figured. But damn was it fun. He really did need to do this more often, the reactions were hysterical. "So, the student council doesn't actually do much in the way of real work." He was telling the truth. The council didn't, it was mostly Nina and him doing the actual work. Milly just came up with hairbrained schemes, Rivalz agreed with his long-time crush, Shirley sat around and looked pretty while providing a prime target for Milly to tease. The three of them weren't stupid, of course, but Milly delegated tasks to those below her on the food chain in true manner of the Nobility, Rivalz was lazy, and Shirley... well, between the teasing from Milly and the fact that the hard work didn't pop up until their monthly Emergency meeting, she didn't find much to do other than socialize and carry papers about for Nina or Lelouch. "When we're not dealing with some crisis on campus, we're either planning an event or relaxing under the guise of hard work."

"Ah... like the Culture Festival." That particular event pissed her off more than she cared to admit. It was basically Britannia parading about all the various countries and cultures they had destroyed and conquered.

Sensing her distaste and feeling he knew why, he shrugged. "That and the Cross Dressers Ball, Absolute Silence Party, and Swimsuit Day." He sighed. "Blame our president. Oh, I heard she's also the reason why the high school uniform's skirts were shortened this year." He chuckled.

Kallen twitched, having noticed already that the skirt was rather short and at times revealing. She much preferred the clothes she was wearing now, much as she may loathe the one loaning them to her. His voice cut in to her musings once more. "Frankly, you seem the type to prefer pants." She nodded idly. "And they look just as good on you as the skirt. I think I prefer you in the pants too, honestly." Somewhat embarrassingly, his clothes had fit Kallen extremely well. Milly would no-doubt tease him for his girlish figure if she noticed just how well she fit his pants. The shirt was, understandably, still tight on her.

She twitched again. "You know, I'm starting to rethink that promise to not harm you. At this point karma would agree that you deserve a bit of harm."

Lelouch shrugged, a grim look overtaking his face. "If karma exists, then at this point I feel I'm owed a bit of good karma. Believe it or not, even us Brits can have bad things happen to us. Some more than others." She had flinched, and he sighed. "I don't think less of you for your heritage, you know." He pointed out. "There's a reason I referred to you as Japanese." This last part was spoken in a whisper. "It wasn't for shock value. Using the term Eleven would probably have been better for that. I don't believe in what Britannia is doing. But, as you can guess, a simple high school student with a crippled younger sister has his hands full taking care of said sister and can't go off and fight the good fight."

Kallen felt her eyes widen. "So, you figured it out." No use denying it, at this point. "And... you won't say anything?" She didn't know she could trust him. But he had trusted her word not to harm him, and so she would trust his. For now. If he broke his promise he would pay dearly.

"Say anything about what?" He asked. "Are you inquiring as to whether or not I'd like to play that online game you were talking about earlier?" The feigned innocence in his voice was obvious.

She actually found herself smiling as she replied in an overly ditzy and sick manner. "O-oh, yeah. I guess... It's not like I can do much else..."

He snickered. "Yes, I prefer the back-alley cat Kallen. Being a domestic kitten doesn't suit you at all."

"There's an insult in there somewhere, I'm sure." She noted. Once they had gotten past the "trying to kill one another" thing, Lelouch wasn't too bad of a guy. Still a fucking pervert.

Kallen's persona was firmly in place as they entered the room, her and Lelouch walking side by side and seemingly getting along well. They actually were, oddly enough. When he wasn't being an insufferable pervert and she wasn't threatening to kill him.

"Lelouch!" Nunally shouted, having picked up on his voice after hearing the end of one of his comments. "It's terrible!"

"Nunnally, what's wrong?" He didn't have to feign concern, despite knowing what would cause this reaction. It had gone public.

"Prince Clovis has been found dead!"

He quickly clamped down on his emotions, the original reaction of recoiling as though stuck and vomiting his lunch back up was replaced by a simple flinch. Acceptable.

Gottwald was the acting consul, now? Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald had certainly come far from his post as a guard for a commoner Empress... No, he couldn't thrust his anger onto the man. He knew as well as anyone else that Gottwald, along with the rest of Marianne's royal guard, had been enthralled by her. She held their unwavering loyalty. It would have taken a lot to make Gottwald even consider leaving his post, which in and of it's self made the whole thing an even bigger mystery. Perhaps he would be able to get close enough to the man to Geass it out of him. And while under _his _thrall, he would see just how receptive Jeremiah would be to serving under Marianne's child. Even if it was against his home-land.

Upon seeing the next familiar face on the T.V., however, he rescinded his earlier decision not to be angry with Jeremiah. This time, however, it was justified and rational anger.

Because the next familiar face he saw had been accused of the murder _he _had committed.

And because that was the face of someone he had thought to be dead twice over.

"Private Suzaku Kururugi." 'Kururugi Suzaku, damn it! Calling his name like that makes him seem _loyal _to this rotten Empire!' Lelouch thought furiously.

"I repeat, Private Suzaku Kururugi has been arrested for murder of Prince Clovis la Britannia!"

Not if Lelouch had anything to say about it.

And Lelouch was always known for knowing just what to say.

* * *

So, those of you who read the previous version of this will remember that Anya (One of my favorite characters.) had Guilmon as a partner. That is changing this time around, and while she will still be incorporated into the story, it will be done in a much... better way then before. Because before, it wasn't really explained well.

BUT! Anyway, Guilmon will be involved. I'm sure we can all guess who I have in mind if I'm not giving him to Anya. (Cookie for anyone who guesses right in a review. Don't worry, there's enough for you all.)

Anya is going to be getting something more unique. Like, literally, I JUST heard of this digimon recently but he fits so well with her. Feel free to guess in a review, and yes it is a dragon-oid digimon, for another shot at a cookie. For those of you who just cannot wait to hear what my once in a life-time stroke of genius has brought, feel free to PM me and I'll tell you who it is. But only that. ONLY.

(The act of PMing me for a freebi exempts you from any chance to receive an internet cookie.

Feel free to Review. It makes me happier than a body builder directing traffic. And we all know that's happy.


	3. Chapter 3

I need to stop thinking up things that never get done.

Demon: *A large explosion can be heard in the distance.* YES! Finally, it's mine! *Demon is waving around a piece of paper with the rights to Code Geass on it.* BWAHAHAH. It is MINE!... what am I going to do with it, though? I mean, sure, I have the rights to Code Geass in hand... but I can't really do much with it. Hmmm...

*Demon is so busy pondering, that he doesn't notice as he is arrested and dragged off to prison, the paper having been returned to it's rightful owner.*

Lelouch: Idiot. No one owns me.

C.C.: *Walks up in a dominatrix outfit, throws a lasso over Lelouch, and walks off dragging the kicking and screaming prince with her.* We'll just see about that.

Anya: ... Demon of Zero does not own code Geass. Expect the chapter following this to come out after he escapes prison.

* * *

Pendragon was the heart of Britannia. As the capitol it served as the home of not only their glorious leader, the Emperor Charles zi Britannia, but also as that of his consorts, his knights, and the higher echelons of Britannian society. While various persons among this group did not spend all of their time in Pendragon, it was their home, ultimately.

The Emperor of Britannia often took visitors in his throne room. It was large, extravagant, well guarded, and was the place many decisions were made by the Emperor.

Rows upon rows of seats stretched out alongside the main floor, upon which sat a lone rug that ran all the way to the foot of the stairs that lead to the Imperial Throne. It was a grand sight to see, those seats all filled with the aristocracy and the walkway lined with armed guards. Grandest of all would be the hulking figure of Charles zi Britannia seated in the midst of it all, commonly flanked by Bismark Waldstein, Knight of One. Meetings with the Emperor were a grand affair, for sure.

This meeting, however, was not spoiled by such grandeur and pleasantries. This meeting was held deeper in the Imperial Palace, the living place of the Emperor of Britannia. Moreso, it took place within his own private study, and without the constant escort of Bismark Waldstein. For this was a meeting of great personal importance to Charles zi Britannia.

Today, he would meet once more with his late wife, Marianne.

To anyone who saw this scene, knowing precisely who the Emperor was speaking with, it would be unbelievable. Not only was Marianne vi Britannia long dead, but she most certainly did not have pink hair and she most certainly was not a child.

And yet, the meeting between Charles zi Britannia and Marianne vi Britannia carried on as though these facts mattered not to them. And, in truth, they did not matter.

"You know what you request will only aggravate the situation further, Marianne." Charles spoke, his voice lacking it's depth and taking on a more intimate tone. A tone not even the other consorts had the privilege of hearing from the most powerful man on the planet.

The small form of Anya Alstreim, Knight of Six, replied in a tone that only one woman had been audacious enough to use while speaking to Charles zi Britannia. "Of course, sweetie. It's what I do. And I want to see my son again." Hearing the Knight of Six, widely regarded as emotionless and cold, calling anyone "sweetie" was jarring. Hearing her call the Emperor something like that was utterly terrifying for numerous reasons.

Rather than be offended by the show of familiarity, something only two people on the planet were allowed to show towards him, Charles laughed. His laugh was deep and bellowing. It was a laugh that could start an avalanche, and it was a rare as an avalanche in Pendragon for that matter. This was not a practiced laugh of superiority, no, it was a heartfelt laugh that only Marianne could invoke in him. "You wish to see Lelouch for no reason other than the fact that you are his mother?" He asked her.

"Of course, dear! Unlike you I actually like to be near my children." She gave him a rather pointed glare that looked particularly out of place on Anya's face. "You never visited Lelouch and Nunnally. I had to force you to spend even a moment with them." Glaring at and scolding the Emperor of Britannia were not things that were done by anyone. Anyone but her.

"The Emperor cannot show weakness such as favoring one of his wives in particular. If you recall, that particular showing of emotion is what lead to my brother's betrayal and the death of your body." He frowned as he mentioned his brother.

"Hmph. V.V. just wasn't willing to share his precious little brother with little ol' Marianne. Who would have taken him as having a brother complex?" Despite the rather grim topic of her murder and it's culprit, Marianne was unconcerned. "Back to the topic at hand, pleaaaaase assign Anya to Area Eleven?" She clasped her hands before her, a pout forming on her lips even as her eyes watered slightly.

The cuteness of the gesture would be ruined by how freaky it was to see Anya Alstreim performing the puppydog pout.

The Emperor merely smirked, the image of Marianne with that look on her face imposing itself over the younger girl. The differences amused him greatly. "And just how would you have me justify this transfer, Marianne?" He asked. "In case you have forgotten, Anya is the Knight of Six. One of my Elite, even worthy of commanding a Digimon. What purpose would having her in Area Eleven serve?"

Marianne threw her head back and laughed boisterously. "You? Needing a reason? Need I remind you that you are the Emperor of the Holy Nation of Britannia, and thusly can do whatever you want? Since when do you need a reason to do anything?"

"Hmph." Charles grunted. "While I needn't justify myself to those beneath me, I do need to have a valid reason to put one of my strongest Knights in an Area that is not in utter turmoil rather than on the battlefield. While Schneizel is handling the Chinese and Cornelia will have established Area 18 in a matter of days, there are numerous other fronts which could use the aid of a Knight of the Round."

This time, it surprised him slightly when Marianne began laughing again. "Honey, you haven't considered the most recent monkey-wrench in our plans, have you? C.C. has provided our son with Geass. It's only a matter of time before Lelouch comes back to haunt Britannia and find the fiend who took away his mother and the freedom his sister once had. He was always a sweetheart like that."

She had a point, Charles would admit. While he had many children and many wives, Marianne and Lelouch were always those that stood above their peers. Marianne had always been his undisputed favorite, much to the ire of the aristocracy and his own brother.

But Lelouch had simply been special. The boy had a fire within him. His mind was sharper than any blade, and his will was indomitable. Had Lelouch stayed under the command of Britannia, Charles had no doubt his stalling the wars would have been much more difficult. Even with Scheizel on his side, Charles could stall all he wanted. Lelouch would not tolerate it and would find every available loophole he could to speed up the wars, likely picking up on the fact that his father was dragging them out for some undisclosed reason.

Had Lelouch stayed under command of Britannia, Charles would have proudly invited his son to stand beside Marianne, V.V., and himself as they broke the chain of hatred that had stained the world for so long. Yes, Lelouch would have made a fine addition to their group. It was sad his brother's jealousy had taken two members from the group in one fell swoop.

However, with Lelouch firmly set against Britannia and Charles unable to trust him explicitly, he would be a thorn in their side with the potential to delay Ragnarok. But he couldn't simply kill the boy, Marianne simply would not allow that at all. Much as she would deny it, she had always favored Lelouch even over Nunnally. She loved both of her children, but not equally. She had treated them both well, but it was clear to him that Lelouch had been her favorite. He could only imagine the hell he would have to deal with should he kill Lelouch without reason good enough to make Marianne raise her blade against her eldest child.

He laughed out loud at the realization that Marianne had already named the best course of action. However, there was still one issue that he would have to address. "Very well, Marianne. I will assign Anya to Area Eleven as a show of force to those who raised their hand against the Empire. However, finding the boy will be problematic. We've nowhere to begin our search, nor do we have a reason for Anya to actively seek him when outside of your control. And as we both know, even seven years later you can only keep control for twenty four hours before having to rest double that amount."

Marianne smiled, shaking her head in exasperation. "Sweetheart, you never learn. Do you know that Reuben opened an Academy in Area Eleven before we invaded? A boy as smart as Lelouch would know the Ashfords would protect them, even from their homeland. Reuben wouldn't allow anything less. And as for motivation for Anya to find Lelouch..." She trailed off with a devilish grin. "My Geass has flaws, Charles. But one of those flaws will benefit us in this endeavor."

"Oh? Do tell, Marianne." Charles motioned for her to continue, smiling at her theatrics.

"While my presence dulls Anya's emotions and causes her constant loss of memory, there are three figures that she cannot forget no matter how I've tried to make her. They are Nunnally, myself, and Lelouch. Even more amusing is the fact that she had a crush on my darling little boy that has never quite gone away! She has this one picture on her phone that she constantly looks at." She tilted her head in thought for a moment. "And it seems as though the restraint on her emotions loosens slightly enough that she acts on them without actively showing emotion. Like the time she began crying while looking at the picture of Lelouch, but didn't act different otherwise. Gino was quite concerned, I recall."

Charles frowned. "Your Geass is unable to affect the memories of you and your direct descendants. This is interesting." His frown deepened slightly. "Then there is a chance that you will be unable to take control of Anya should the need arise and Lelouch is to be killed."

Marianne glared. "Charles, are you insinuating I cannot wrest control of this body away from a fifteen year old girl should the need arise?" Her tone made it clear that there was only one answer to the question.

And so it was with an exasperated sigh that Charles granted the request of his beloved wife.

And it was with a brilliant grin that Marianne began to dance cheerfully around his study, twirling and hopping about in joy.

Charles smiled. Marianne had always been the most amusing of his wives.

* * *

Lelouch couldn't help but smile as he spotted Kallen and three men he recognized as her terrorist friends wandering idly around Tokyo Tower, which was now little more than a museum depicting the Elevens as an unenlightened race who Britannia had done nothing but help.

In other words, they were spewing bullshit. Propaganda was something Lelouch had always hated. He was of the mind that words meant nothing with no actions backing them. And Britannia's attempts at making the situation sound good for the Japanese were certainly not mirrored by their actions. As he made his way to the train station, he looked out over the city.

From the tower you could easily see where the city stopped and the ghettos began. It was a clear line that, to him, read as "us" and "them" respectively. Now, however, he was a part of "them", wasn't he? No matter. Once he was finished, these differences wouldn't mean a thing. He wouldn't stop fighting until the line between "them" and "us" was no longer an issue. For that to happen, the Darwinist Society that Britannia prided itself on must cease to exist.

That was one sacrifice he would be happy to make. Stealing one last glance before he got on the elevator to the bottom floor, being the only one on it, he whispered to himself. "This is why I'll fight."

Words were powerful, but only when you were ready to commit to the actions your words claimed. Simply saying something won't make it true. And so, he would use his words and his actions. He would change this rotten world.

And he knew Kallen and her friends would help him do it. He just needed to motivate them.

It wasn't like it would be hard. Freeing Japan was the first step of his plan, after all.

As he left Tokyo Tower, Lelouch couldn't help but smile. Things were changing. After seven years of stagnancy, it was finally time. He would never have to fear being sucked up by Britannia and losing his will to fight. No, he was going to fight now while the fire for justice and the thirst for vengeance were still fresh.

Soon, Lelouch was on the proper train. He had spotted the rebels boarding the specified train car, looking as discreet as a Britannian schoolgirl and three Japanese men can when boarding a train in close succession. Show time, then.

"Excuse me!" He shouted, drawing the attention of the passengers. His Geass flared to life. "I'd like all of you to follow my orders for the duration of this trip."

"Yes, my lord."

* * *

"Face the front of the train car, and look to your right. What do you see?"

Kallen peered that direction, seeing the edge of the settlement passing them by. She whispered into the phone so as not to be heard by the other passengers. "I see the Britannian city. Built upon the corpses of the Japanese."

"And to your left?"

"I see our city. A broken husk that was left as a reminder of what the Britannians think of us."

This answer seemed to intrigue the voice, as he paused for a moment. "What do they think of us?"

"They think we're worthless. Nothing. That we'll lie down and die if they force us into the ghettos." She replied.

"I see. Good answers. Head to the front train car. I'll be waiting."

Her eyes widened slightly. He was on the train with them. She signaled for the others to follow, and they did. After a few moments they realized no one was paying any attention to them whatsoever, but they payed it no mind. Soon, Kallen had reached the final car. What she saw inside of it gave her pause and she gasped.

Standing at the front of the car was a single figure. Their back was turned to her, but she could make out a black cloak held around them and a helmet upon their head.

"It was you?" Kallen asked, as Ohgi, Sugiyama, and Yoshida stepped into the car right after she did. Ohgi and Sugiyama stood shoulder to shoulder with her, while Yoshida stood slightly behind them, peering quickly into the cars preceding them.

"Were you the one who caused Clovis to withdraw his forces from Shinjuku?" Kallen asked once more.

The figure said nothing. "Come on, say something already!" Sugiyama demanded.

Still the cloaked figure said nothing. Suddenly, the car went dark and the masked figure turned to look at them. "So, how did you like my tour?" He asked in a heavily modulated, masculine voice. Seeing their confusion, he continued. "I wanted you to grasp the two. The settlement." He threw out his left hand, revealing slightly more of the man beneath the cloak. "And the ghetto." With that his right hand was thrown outwards, revealing the outfit beneath. He gave off a regal, somewhat intimidating feel.

"No way it was this joker..." Yoshida muttered.

Ohgi stepped forward. "We realize there is a difference between the two of us, and that is why we fight them." He spoke.

"You're wrong." Zero replied. Before they could retort, he continued. "Such a weak reason for fighting will only carry you so far. Your enemy is not the people of Britannia, but the corrupt nation itself! Meager terrorism is nothing more than a gnat biting at the hand of the Emperor! To truly fight Britannia, know your enemy and take up your sword. Fight for justice!"

Kallen growled. "Easy for you to say! Hiding behind that mask of yours? Why don't you show us your real face, huh!?" She shouted. Mutterings of agreement came from Yoshida and Sugiyama, though Ohgi remained silent.

"I can not show you my face. However, perhaps if I reveal to you something else you would be more willing to trust me." He snapped his fingers, and a glow came from under one of the furthest seats.

As the four rebels prepared for the worst, a voice called out. "Hello there, friends. Kekeke." The voice came from a blue jellyfish-like creature with two long arms and a massive mouth.

"Allow me to introduce you to Keramon, my digimon partner." Zero stated, patting Keramon lightly on the head. The digimon didn't mind it at all.

"I'm not a housecat you know." Keramon griped in false protest, deflating slightly as Zero stopped.

The rebels were quite shocked. Not even the JLF had Digimon under their control, and they were the most well equipped of all rebel organizations. To see another with one of the monsters, this time on their side, it was something rare. The next thing Zero said, however, knocked them for a loop.

"As of now, Keramon and I can reach Ultimate level."

* * *

A convoy of four Sutherlands and a military transport were being driven down a street lined with jeering Britannians who had been brought there that night for only one thing. To put on a show. Because that was all this was, nothing more than a circus act. And Diethard Reid was a corrupt as any of them.

And yet, the blonde man couldn't help but feel it was all so dull. How disappointing it was that their government had decided to put up a scapegoat rather than seek out the actual murderer of their prince. Knowing this, Diethard couldn't help but feel cheated. This wasn't a story, it was just elaborate fiction.

Diethard hated fiction. He craved facts. He wanted, no, needed a story. Something, anything at all to break the cycle of this humdrum world. He was going to go mad if he had to settle for falsified accusations and faked emotion.

It simply wasn't worth his, or anyone's, time. And yet these people were being fooled into believing that they were here to show support for their wonderful Prince.

Diethard would shed no tears for that pompous airhead. He couldn't remember the number of that buffoon's parties he'd covered, but it was too damn high. Hopefully the next Viceroy would actually get things done and give him something worth recording.

Not likely, though. Every good story needed conflict, but the battles between Britannia and the remaining Japanese weren't conflict so much as one sided massacres. They weren't worthy of a story either. It seemed like he would be stuck in his worthless cycle of events for the rest of his life.

But then a spark of hope appeared.

And it's name was Zero.

* * *

The convoy escorting Private Suzaku Kururugi had stopped abruptly.

"H-hey! They actually stopped, just like he said they would!" Sugiyama muttered, shocked.

"It's a coincidence." Tamaki assured him tersely, unable to believe it himself.

"But he said Jeremiah would try to hog the limelight by making a show of it, what if everything else is right too?" Yoshida interjected.

"COINCIDENCE!" Tamaki shouted, eyes still firmly attached to the TV. "They're not gonna pull this off. They'll be lucky to escape alive, let alone with Kururugi."

But still, despite his words, Tamaki felt the same spark of hope they all did. If he pulled this off, what else could this mystery man come up with?'

For the first time in a long time, their group had someone to rally behind.

And his name was Zero.

* * *

Within a darkened room inside of Ashford Academy, a young girl prayed quietly for the life of a friend long thought dead. As the man on the radio spoke, her heart dropped and her prayers hastened. Tears gathered in her eyes as she begged someone, anyone, to save the life of her friend.

Suzaku wouldn't kill Clovis. He just wouldn't. She knew it deep in her heart, Suzaku was innocent. There wasn't even any way for him to get to Clovis as a Private, so how could he have?

He was innocent and deserved to be free, not bound and paraded towards his demise like a criminal.

And so she prayed, hoping someone would finally answer.

The answer to her prayers came.

His name was Zero.

* * *

"I am Zero." The masked man announced, staring down Jeremiah as though he wasn't held at gunpoint. As though he had nothing to fear. As though they were never going to pose a threat to him.

He would never admit it, but Jeremiah had been unnerved for just a moment by the sheer confidence of the masked man before him. Instead, he shouted at him. "How dare you desecrate his Highness's transport! I hope you had your laughs, Zero, because the joke is over!" A round fired from his pistol and four more Sutherlands dropped around the vehicle.

Zero was completely unaffected. "Take off that mask and I MIGHT think of letting you off with a light sentencing." Jeremiah threatened.

A gloved hand reached towards his mask, as though moving to remove it, before raising high over his head and snapping.

To Jeremiah it was like that sound was a gunshot. His blood ran cold as he saw just what this Zero had unveiled. The capsule said to contain poisonous gas.

"Lord Jeremiah! Be careful, he has the-!" Villeta cut herself off, not wanting to cause a panic unintentionally. That was the last thing they wanted.

"I know..." He muttered angrily, fists clenching and teeth gritting. This was not good. Each and every Britannian here tonight was here because he had requested it of them. If that bastard set off the gas, each and every death would be on his hands. "He's taken every person here hostage and they don't even know it..."

After failing once in his duties, Jeremiah knew he couldn't handle the deaths of all these innocent Britannians on his hands. Behind him, he vaguely heard the prisoner shouting but he couldn't care less.

"You're a madman!" Jeremiah yelled, pointing his gun at the masked man.

This seemed to amuse him even more. "You know full well what you risk aiming that weapon at me, Jeremiah. Surely you know what will happen if you miss?"

The Margrave growled. "FINE! What are your demands?" He asked.

Zero extended a hand, as though to shake. "This," He stated, gesturing to the capsule. "For Kururugi Suzaku. An exchange."

Jeremiah's eyes narrowed. 'I'm caught in my own lie! Bastard...' Rather than saying this, he yelled "Like hell! He's charged with high treason for murdering a prince, I can't hand him over!"

Zero outright laughed. "Still clinging to that pathetic little cover story, Jeremiah?" He noticed with glee that a cameraman had run up to get a closer view, and obliged him gratefully by turning to regard him. "How sad that the Britannian Military spent all of their time framing an innocent man. Had you not, perhaps you would have caught the real culprit." He allowed himself another brief laugh. "Instead of that, I presented myself to you and there is nothing you can do about it."

Jeremiah's eyes widened. "Are you saying-!"

"Yes! The man who stands before you now is the same man who killed your beloved Prince Clovis!" Zero announced.

"For one "Eleven"," He spat the word like it had left a bad taste in his mouth, "you can save scores of your "precious" Britannians. I find that to be quite a bargain."

"He's MAD I tell you! Disguising that truck to look like his Higness's, he'll pay the price for mocking the crown." Jeremiah shouted, causing the Sutherlands to train their rifles on him. Still, though, their hands were stayed by the capsule.

Zero remained calm through it all. "Careful, Jeremiah. You wouldn't want the public to learn of Orange, would you?" Beneath the mask, the smirk on Lelouch's face was positively demonic. 'Oh he will _hate _me for that one.' He thought to himself. However, the name had the desired effect and Jeremiah actually flinched before the confusion set in. It was too good to be true. 'He'll be useful to me later, so I'll keep from destroying his reputation entirely. Paint it out to look like he was protecting Clovis's reputation from something. Yes, that will do nicely.' He tapped his foot on the top of the vehicle, cueing Kallen to drive forward.

"If I die, it will all go public. You wouldn't want to tarnish your precious Prince's reputation with something as unsightly as _that_, would you, Jeremiah? Just imagine how people would react..." He played it up until he reached range to use his Geass, at which point the glass over his left eye slid back, revealing a violet orb to the world. "If you value your Prince's memory, _you will do everything in your power to allow us to escape with Kururugi._"

The spell fell over Jeremiah, and he calmed significantly. "Fine, you win." He turned to the guards. "Release the prisoner." He ordered grimly.

"B-but sir..."

"NOW." Jeremiah asserted.

Kururugi Suzaku was met halfway by Zero and a woman dressed in a white chauffeur uniform with a visor obscuring her face. The brunette attempted to speak, forgetting the collar that shocked him half-way through his sentence.

"I see. It's as I suspected, you weren't allowed to speak." Zero noted. "How like Britannia."

"Zero, it's time to go." The chauffeur muttered.

"Very well." He pressed a button on the remote he had been holding.

And then all hell broke loose.

* * *

A collapsed theater was the setting of yet another meeting later that night. "I see they treated you rather roughly." Zero mentioned, after having freed Suzaku from the shock collar. He currently stood upon a large piece of rubble, staring at the sky through the hole in the ceiling which had originally housed that particular stone. "Now you know just what they're like, I suppose?" He asked, gaze traveling to his old friend.

Suzaku was rubbing his wrists, before looking up to Zero. "So it's true, then. You're the one who killed Clovis?"

Lelouch suppressed the immediate urge to say sarcastic in favor of something else. "Clovis was an enemy commander, and had ordered the slaughter of countless unarmed Japanese. Why wouldn't I kill him?" Lelouch ignored the voice in the back of his head that whispered 'Because you loved him.' The Clovis Lelouch had known was gone. And now the new heartless monster that he had become was gone aswell.

"And the gas?" Suzaku accused. "Those were innocent civilians you know!"

Beneath his mask, Lelouch raised a brow. 'He was there when the capsule opened and surely he isn't stupid enough to believe I have the resources to procure that much poisonous gas.' It wasn't like the stuff was something he could buy at the super-market. "Nothing more than colored smoke to help along the bluff." He replied. "The result? Not a single casualty and all mission objectives fulfilled. Exactly the kind of operation I strive for."

"The result, eh? I suppose that's all that matters to you?" While he had said it mostly to himself, Zero had still caught what he said.

It didn't sit right with him. Here he was, the man who had just rescued a convicted criminal without a single casualty on either side and in an extremely peaceful manner, and yet Suzaku was acting like he had killed his puppy.

"I apologize, Kururugi, had I known you wanted to remain a captive for a crime you didn't commit I would have left you alone. Surely, those few people who inhaled the gas will forever be scarred by the few coughs they may have uttered. How ever can I live with myself for the pain I have caused them." Was it necessary? No, no it wasn't. But here he was after pulling off something NO ONE would have expected possible, with not a soul even slightly injured, and Suzaku was bitching at him about his methods. Methods that, once again, had civilian safety as a priority. He shook his head slightly, calming himself. Damn his friend for bringing out the sarcastic side of him.

"Come, Suzaku." His hand stretched towards the boy. "Join me. We can work together and change this rotten nation."

"I'm sorry, Zero, but any ends gained through contemptible means are worthless." Suzaku replied, turning to walk away.

"Contemptible means?" Zero muttered, fists clenching. Since when had his friend become such an utter idiot? He was stupid, sure, but never this bad. What part of his means were contemptible? He hadn't even threatened the life or health of a SINGLE person that night. How the hell was that contemptible? Wait... "Wait, where are you going?" He asked, noticing Suzaku walking away.

"My court martial is in an hour. I'd try to bring you in, but you'd just kill me then, wouldn't you?" Suzaku replied, not slowing even slightly.

What. Had he just said that he would try to bring him in... for saving him from execution. And now he was going back to them. His teeth grit. Kill him? Kill Suzaku? Why would he kill the fool after saving his sorry ass from death for a crime he hadn't committed? Lelouch growled. "Kururugi!" He shouted, finally causing the boy to stop. "What is it you hope to achieve by submitting yourself to their whims after I had just freed you? Surely you know that the judge, prosecution, jury and even the defense are all against you? If you go back to them now, my confession may not save you. You would die needlessly." Come on Suzaku. See reason. Don't be an idiot.

"If I don't go back, they'll start cracking down on Elevens and Honorary Britannians. I can't let that happen." The brunette spoke.

Lelouch froze. Suzaku had just referred to the Japanese as Elevens. There was no reason not to use the true name for his race in this situation, and yet he still used the term Eleven.

Seven years had changed Clovis from a pompous yet caring prince to a monster who would bathe in the blood of innocents to protect his secrets. What had it done to Suzaku? "You... you IDIOT!" He shouted. 'Please, please no... Has Suzaku lost his mind? Don't make me have to kill him too...' As a Private, Suzaku would live and die uselessly for Britannia. Lelouch may even order his death on accident. That wasn't a fate he wanted Suzaku to have.

The boy stopped, looked up at the sky, and chuckled. "An old friend of mine used to say that to me a lot."

"Did you ever listen?" Lelouch asked, knowing the answer.

"No."

Beneath his mask, a few tears slid down Lelouch's cheek, soaking into the cloth facemask.

"Goodbye, Suzaku." He whispered to the wind, his old friend long gone.

He could only hope the fool would come to his senses before Britannia destroyed him.

* * *

All chatter between the rebels stopped as Zero walked out from the back of the theater, without Kururugi. "Kururugi Suzaku has decided to return to his court martial."

The initial onset of outrage was halted by his raised hand. "He did this so that Britannia wouldn't have an excuse to further clamp down upon other Japanese and Honorary Britannians. Despite the annoyance I felt from our efforts being in vain, I understand his reasoning and respect him for it. Thankfully, with my confession he should be acquitted. Should Britannia execute him now, the public will be in an uproar. After all, if they couldn't at least get the real killer, why should they kill their scapegoat?" He sighed. "I'm glad that we at least managed to protect the meager rights given to the Honorary Britannians. Had the Purist Faction executed Suzaku, they would have launched a platform against Honorary Britannians in general while public support was still high. The few lucky enough to claim some of their lives back would have it all robbed from them once more."

A few nods and murmurs of agreement met his ears. "What a pain in the ass, though." The redheaded male, Tamaki, muttered. "You guys risked your lives for the guy and he just walked off?"

"Yep, seems that way. Kekeke." Keramon, who had been resting lazily atop one of the bits of rubble, exclaimed. "Geeze, Zero, did you have to leave me behind for that mission of yours? If I had nails I would've been biting them to the nub, you scared me you ass."

As a show of trust, Lelouch had left Keramon with the rebels who had decided not to come along for his operation. Originally, this had shocked the group before Zero had assured them, quite simply, that he wouldn't need Keramon's help for this particular mission. Tamaki had been quite adamant that they would fail, especially now that he had decided to leave behind his partner.

Now they were just impressed.

"My apologies, Keramon. I didn't want to reveal you to Britannia quite yet. As of now, you are our ace in hole." Zero stated. "Rest assured, your time will come."

Sugiyama spoke up. "You know, it's weird seeing an actual Digimon actually holding a conversation. The few I've seen have either been complete robots or vicious beasts. It painted a pretty bad picture of your kind."

Yoshida chimed in aswell. "Yeah, I was in one of those digital fields once. The thing that came out was a frothing maniac with nothing on it's mind but killing. Good thing it was just a rookie, or I may not have been able to down it with my pistol."

Keramon nodded. "Bio-emerging is disorientating process. If your will isn't strong enough, you'll go berserk. But it's still safer than the alternative in many cases."

"What's the alternative?" Ohgi asked curiously.

Keramon giggled in a demented fashion for a moment. "Deletion, absorption, and reincarnation as a baby digimon. Sometimes the last two steps are skipped, depending on who chased you down. That's what is causing Bio-emergence to skyrocket, Digimon running for their lives and escaping to the human world. Sometimes alone. Others with their pursuers in tow..." He trailed off.

"So, what about you then?" Kallen questioned. "Were you chased here too?"

Keramon glanced at Zero, silently asking for permission to divulge this information. Zero spoke next. "Feel free to tell them, Keramon. While some secrets are necessary, I don't want to foster distrust between us."

"Alright." The blue digimon replied. He turned to the rebels once more. "I arrived in the Human World on the same day you stole that bomb from Clovis. Zero found me fighting uselessly against the Angemon that had chased me out of the digital world, and... well." He grasped for words for a moment. "Something about him called to me. Next thing I know, boom, I digivolved." He shrugged. "Oh, by the way, we Keramon can skip Champion level entirely when digivolving. Our champion level is a cocoon of sorts, you could say. The longer we spent as Kurisarimon, the more powerful we are as Infermon. Skipping it leaves me as an ultimate with high champion level strength. Speculation has it that this is due to the difficulty we have digivolving past ultimate. It's very rare to see a Diaboramon."

Tamaki threw his own two cents in. "Do you think you're gonna be able to do it? After all, if Zero can go performing miracles like Kururugi's escape... who know's what he's capable of?"

Keramon snickered. "Do you know why it's so rare to find a Britannian-controlled Digimon that can reach Mega level, limited only to the Knight of One himself?" He asked. Seeing their hesitance to answer, he continued. "It's because they're enslaved. Reaching Mega isn't just about power, it's about emotion. You can't fight at your best for a cause you don't believe in. That's why China's famous Black Gabumon is so powerful, he's fighting willingly. Only four of the Rounds have digimon that aren't emotionless last we've checked. Those would be the digimon partnered with Bismark Waldstein, Anya Alstreim, Gino Weinberg, and Nonette Enneagram. It's why they're the strongest Knights."

At the mention of Nonette, Lelouch had to force down a chuckle. Yes, he remembered her alright. The only person other than the Emperor who Cornelia was point-blank terrified of. Lelouch had heard stories from the Knight of Nine on just what she did to scar Cornelia so badly.

Needless to say, he kept his distance from that point on.

"Emotions are powerful things." He noted, startling the rebels by speaking so abruptly. "Anger can drive a civilized man to become little more than a rabid beast. Sorrow can drag even the most stalwart to their knees in despair. Envy can tear a rift between even the closest of friends. And love can push a person beyond the limits of their body for even the briefest of moments. Emotions are the driving factors behind all conflict, and yet also the force that keeps the peace. Without emotion," he brought his hand before his mask, covering the left half. ", you are not whole." His hand fell and he sighed. "Come, Keramon. We're going now."

Keramon slinked on over to Zero, tentacles coiling around his shoulders and trailing along behind the man like a demented balloon. The digimon waved enthusiastically over his shoulder at the rebels. "Later!"

"We'll keep in touch. Keep the phone you picked up, Q-1."

* * *

The Bamides of the MEF (Middle Eastern Federation) were terrifying hunks of metal held up on three tripod-like legs, with large cannons mounted on their front and the size of four knightmares. The range of their guns far outstripped those of Britannia's tanks, their armor withstood direct strikes from aforementioned tanks, and they also could outmaneuver the tanks on the constantly shifting desert sands.

And so, when the tanks began falling, the MEF were quite assured of their victory today.

Princess Cornelia, the Witch of Britannia, had something to say about that.

From the smoke of the most recent Britannian casualty, several Gloucesters dashed out onto the field, greatly surprising the MEF combatants. Within moments, and without even the faintest struggle, the Bamides were disabled and their cores were on the verge of explosion.

The leader of the MEF forces saw one last thing before his Bamide was destroyed, evaporating he and his crew in a brilliant fireball.

A single customized Gloucester stood in the midst of what was their fort, but was now nothing more than flaming ruin. And deeper into the smoke, a large draconian shadow lurked, maw gaping wide and spewing even more fire to the sky in victory.

"Victory is ours." Cornellia stated from her knightmare, two screens showing the faces of her closest advisors. "Area 18 is established."

"My lady." Darlton spoke, drawing her attention. "About our next course of action..." He trailed off.

"Sorry for making you clean up my fool of a younger brother's mess." The Witch replied.

"Please don't apologize, my lady. We live to serve and our place is with you." Darlton assured her.

She chuckled. "Tell me, Darlton. Do you think Area 11 will need our usual treatment?"

"Yes, my lady."

"Good."

And behind her, the gargantuan shadow of some monster became clearer as a hulking orange and blue beast stepped into view. It snorted, and a brief gout of flames flew from it's nostrils.

The Witch of Britannia was coming to Area 11. And she had a dinosaur.

Shit was about to get real.

* * *

Lelouch trudged drearily into the dining room, knowing that Nunally would still be practicing her origami there. She had taken to it like a fish to water, despite her handicap. She had been making the cranes almost none-stop.

The door opened, and Lelouch greeted his beloved younger sister. "Nunally, I'm home."

"Welcome back, Lelouch." Called a voice that was not Nunally.

His eyes darted to the source of the voice, and his mind promptly ceased working.

Sitting in the chair next to his little sister was the girl from Shinjuku. Making origami cranes with his little sister and under the watchful eyes of Sayoko. And she was alive.

Despite taking a bullet to the skull and bleeding out, she was alive.

"Oh good, you're back. I was so worried." Nunally spoke, placing another finished crane on the table.

"I assume you ate out tonight, judging by your appearance." The girl noted.

She was alive. How? That didn't make sense at all. He saw her die. She took a bullet for him and died. But here she was now, talking to him. "Bwah?" Was all he managed.

Despite herself, Sayoko couldn't help but be amused by his reaction. It wasn't often you got to see Lelouch Lamperouge speechless with a clueless look on his face. It was cute in a way.

"Thank goodness! I had been worried you were caught up in the uproar caused by that man, Zero. I tried calling you but you didn't answer your cell phone. I wanted to tell you that miss C.C. has been waiting here aswell."

He blinked. "C.C.?" He murmured. So her name was C.C.? How peculiar. But not as strange as te fact that she was alive and well, and making origami cranes with his little sister in the dining room.

Nunally giggled, a cherubic little sound, before speaking. "Your friend is so strange, going by her initials alone."

"Uh.. yeah." Come on Lelouch! You're looking like an idiot here! But she is supposed to be _dead _for fucks sake! Lelouch was a man of logic, and this was not logical in the slightest! How do you react to this!?

"Uhm... I was just wondering." Nunally paused a bit, almost nervous. "But, is C.C. your girlfriend?"

"Huh?" He gasped. That was a ridiculous notion. She had been Clovis's prisoner, not that Nunally would know that, and then died. And now his little sister was asking if she was his girlfriend?

"He made a promise to me about our future together." The green haired woman replied, before turning to regard him with those golden eyes. "Isn't that right, Lelouch?"

His brain was finally getting over the fact that C.C. was alive and moving on to the fact that she was in his house. And that she had just said something very easily taken the wrong way.

Which is exactly what Nunally did. "A future together? Like marriage? But you're so young." She said, jumping to the wrong conclusion due to the vague statement of the apparent immortal.

"No!" Lelouch exclaimed, his mind finally coming back to him. "No, no. That's not what she was talking about. Uh, she was kidding around."

"No I'm not." C.C. countered immediately.

Lelouch twitched as Nunally began going on about how different people lived their lives different ways, glancing to Sayoko and making a hand signal. 'Stay quiet.' was what he said, as he walked forward and grabbed a teacup. Giving one last apologetic glance to Sayoko, he threw the cup down hard enough to shatter it. "Oh, no, C.C.!" He started, grabbing her arm forcefully. "You're soaking wet. Here, come on, let's get you into some dry clothes. Sayoko, could you please take care of the cup and help Nunally get ready for bed?"

He pulled the lackadaisical girl out the door by her arm, and Sayoko couldn't help but giggle at his further denial of them being in a relationship. She was a strange girl, but she didn't seem dangerous to the kunoichi. And Nunally liked the woman, and Nunally was the best judge of character Sayoko knew. Just taking someone else's hand in her own seemed to reveal their entire being to the girl.

So, Sayoko trusted Lelouch could handle the situation on his own. Especially considering he still carried the duffel bag containing Tsumemon.

The most unsafe thing she could think of happening would be...

She giggled again, a light blush on her cheeks. She needed to stop reading those erotic novels in her spare time.

* * *

"Who are you?" Lelouch asked, his voice glacial. The woman sat herself on his bed, looking him over.

"She said my name. I'm C.C." She pointed out matter-of-factly.

He grunted. "I know that. But-" He was cut off.

"I'm supposed to be dead, right?" She asked, a coy smile on her lips. "I get that sometimes. At any rate, how do you like the power I gave you? I hope it's not disappointing."

"Quite the opposite, as a matter of fact." Lelouch replied, still eyeing her warily. "Thanks to you, my plans have been moved up greatly."

"Plans?" She wondered aloud.

"Yes." He said, hand raising to cover his right eye. "My plans to obliterate Britannia. I would have had to wait much longer to make the initial move if not for you."

"You think you can defeat Britannia just because of this power?" C.C. asked, flopping onto his bed and staring up at the ceiling.

The hand covering his eye brushed over his hair, this time gesturing around his left eye. "I intended to do so without Geass." He revealed. "And now, I have not only this power, but an ally who I can trust my life to in a heart-beat."

C.C.'s eyebrow raised. "You don't mean me, that much is certain." Her attention was drawn to the duffel bag that her contractor had been carrying throughout the entire night. It had been set on the ground beside the dark haired prince, and he was now kneeling to unzip it.

As soon as it came unzipped, there was a flash of purplish light. "Bwahaha!" Keramon cackled, springing up out of the bag like a maniacal jack-in-the-box. "Hiya. I'm Keramon." He greeted.

The immortal's eyes lit up suddenly, as something of great interest was presented to her. "Oh my." She smirked. "He's cute." Her gaze shifted back to the ceiling, and it seemed as though, for a moment, she was speaking to someone else. "I just knew he'd be a fascinating guy."

"So what will you do now?" He asked. "I'm sure the military is after you."

She frowned. "Not the entire military. Just a small faction of it. If I'm careful, I can hide from them easily." Her frown shifted to a smirk, and she removed the leggings to the prison outfit she wore, tossing them casually to the floor. "I can make do here." She finished, throwing the sleeves off aswell. She gave him a look. "A gentleman would sleep on the floor."

"Hey, wait a minute!" Lelouch gasped in shock. "You can't stay _here_!" He said, climbing on to the bed to hover over the green haired girl who had pulled the covers to her chin.

"My getting caught would be trouble for you, too." She argued.

"It's dangerous to stay together." Lelouch said firmly.

"If I wander the streets, they'll find me." She replied. Though, she didn't seem worried at all about such a thing happening.

"This isn't about you. This is my situation." He responded, purple eyes gazing into her own gold.

C.C. turned over. "I hate stubbornness." She muttered.

"Hard to believe considering how well you practice it." He said, shifting his weight so that he could fall over her and on to the other side of the bed, where he continued to regard her.

The girl gave him a dull look, and he decided that it was more trouble than it was worth to try and rid himself of her. With that in mind, he made her an offer. "Alright. You can stay here, but I want some answers in return."

"There are some things I can't tell you yet, you realize." She replied. "And that can all wait until morning, can't it?"

Lelouch frowned. "Very well. Tomorrow morning." He said, shifting to a sitting position to remove his shoes and socks. He removed his jacket next, throwing the offending piece of clothing across the room.

C.C. inspected him as he did so. "You know, for someone with so little muscle mass you certainly have a strong grip." She noted. Seeing the boy stretching his arms over his head, she spoke again. "I already mentioned that a gentleman would take the floor, didn't I?" The girl asked.

He gave her a look. "I've had a long day and it's turned into a rough night. I think, for once, I can afford not to be a gentleman. Keramon, hit the lights please."

"Got'cha." He switched off the lights, blanketing the room in sweet darkness just as Lelouch lied down, allowing C.C. to keep the blanket to herself. The digimon then retrieved the small turquoise pillow Lelouch had placed in the duffel bag for his comfort, moved it to his chosen spot on the desk, and degenerated bck into Tsumemon to get comfortable. He fell asleep almost instantly.

Lelouch looked over to the girl who he was currently sharing a bed with, seeing her eyes still wide open and inspecting him. He smiled lightly. "C.C., thank you for saving my life that day in Shinjuku."

Her eyes widened, before she regained control of her emotions. "I'm not able to die. It's not like it mattered to me." She replied.

He chuckled. "Yes, but death does mean something to me. If it wasn't for you, Nunally wouldn't have an older brother anymore. That means something to me. So, I won't say this again. Thank you." He rolled over, turning his back to her.

'A fascinating guy, indeed. Your boy is more interesting than I originally thought, Marianne.'

* * *

Morning came quickly for Lelouch, and soon he was at his computer typing away. C.C. had woken before him and, apparently, stolen his credit card to order a pizza. Which she was now enjoying on his bed, dressed in nothing but one of his shirts.

Less than a day and she had already become a nuisance. "So, what was Orange, anyway?" She asked, having read about the scandal surrounding Jeremiah Gottwald. The man had lost his position as acting consul and was now humiliated and dedicating all of his time towards locating Zero.

He smirked at her. "You know, I still haven't gotten around to getting my answers from you." He mentioned.

She huffed. "Fine, tell me what Orange is and then ask away. But like I said, there are some things I will keep to myself."

Lelouch rolled his eyes. "Orange is a hoax I came up with because I remembered Jeremiah from my childhood." His smirk returned as he saw her blink. "Yes, the man was one of my mother's Royal Guard. He was raised on an orange plantation and eventually became so disenfranchised with the fruit that just mentioning it yesterday made him flinch." He chuckled. "That will certainly lend credence to the rumors. However, I intend to recruit Jeremiah to my side if at all possible, and so I made it out to seem like he was protecting Clovis's reputation. If anything, it should grant him a bit of protection from the persecution of the higher ups. Especially if the next Viceroy is who I hope it will be."

"And who do you hope the next Viceroy is?" C.C. asked.

"My sister, Cornelia li Britannia." He replied. "I need answers and she can give them to me. As the head of my mother's Royal Guard, Cornelia may know something about her death. Clovis pointed me towards her aswell. Considering Area Eleven is seven years old and the resistance is still fierce, they cannot simply send another incompetent to be Viceroy. If not for my brother's status as a Prince, he would have been stripped of the title long ago and replaced by someone more capable." He shrugged. "Either they'll send Cornelia to break the resistance, or I'll keep offing the Viceroy's until they do."

She grinned. "How vicious of you."

"All's fair in love and war, and I hold no love for my homeland." He replied.

C.C. surprised him with her next question. "And do you intend to kill Cornelia?" She asked. "When you killed Clovis, it was because he ordered the massacre of Shinjuku, was it not?" She saw him flinch. "And you still regret it?"

"I do not regret killing Clovis." Lelouch answered firmly. And it was true. "As much as it may have hurt to kill one of the few family members I held positive feelings for, I don't regret my decision. As far as Cornelia goes, however... I do not know whether or not I will be able to capture her alive. If I can't, I will not allow my feelings to jeopardize my mission."

"I see."

Lelouch gave her a look. "You know, I never did get around to asking you those questions, C.C."

"You get sidetracked to easily. It's time for you to go anyway, isn't it?" She asked.

He grinned deviously at her. "I can skip a day of school."

C.C. grunted. "Fine. Ask."

"What does our contract entail?" He asked.

She frowned. "In exchange for the power of Geass, you must now grant my wish. My wish is something I won't share with you yet, so don't think you can get rid of me that easily."

Lelouch sighed in exasperation. "Fine, then. Why did Clovis decide to keep you contained?"

The girl actually flinched, voice turning softer... vulnerable. "Please don't ask me about that again. Those are years I'd like to forget."

His gaze softened. "I'm sorry for that." He sighed again. "Are there any other Geass users, and are they all the same?"

"Hmmm..." She seemed to be debating on whether or not to tell him. Eventually, she made her decision. "There are other users of Geass, and none of them are the same. Each on is tailor made to suit the recipient."

"How many are there?" Asked Lelouch, somewhat concerned.

"Only one you need to concern yourself with, and let's hope you never need to..." She trailed off.

He grunted. "Good enough for now." And then he smiled. "Seeing as how I've decided to skip school for the day, I think now is a good time to go gallivanting about the city. I could use some relaxation after the events of last night."

"The expression on your face was priceless, by the way. You look so cute when you're clueless." C.C. pointed out.

"Urk..." He grimaced. "Anyone would have reacted the same. Seeing someone who took a bullet for you sitting at your dining room table folding origami with your little sister is a very disorientating event."

"I'll have to take your word for it. I've never had such an unusual happening in my life." She replied. "But, still, I think I'd like to see that look again. I'll have to think of something..."

"Please don't."

* * *

It was a beautiful day, Lelouch noted as he walked down the streets of the Tokyo Settlement. He was dressed in his usual casual wear, duffel bag over his shoulder as he walked. He had already blown a good amount of his day after lucking out and finding a chess tournament being held at his favorite cafe. It was a simple affair, sign in, wait for the event to begin, and then win your matches to advance. Nothing special about it.

His opponent in the final game had been good. A man named Clark Mackinzy, he had certainly been a cut above Lelouch's usual opponents in the Nobility. However, as with almost everyone who faces Lelouch in chess, Mr. Mackinzy lost the match. After being given the prize, a fifty dollar gift card to the cafe, he had stuck around for a bit and decided to check on Suzaku's court marshal once more.

After accessing one of the computers provided for costumer use, and eating his cherry turnover, he breathed a sigh of relief. Suzaku had been acquitted. It was a load off of Lelouch's shoulders to say the least.

After finishing his business in the cafe, Lelouch stood and headed out the door of the establishment. He felt movement in the bag, and reached down to unzip it slightly. "Yes?" He whispered, after the occupant of the bag had calmed down.

"Digital field!" Tsumemon hissed back at him. "It's off to your right, way off. It's really faint but I can feel it!"

After stopping to actually look what was in that direction, Lelouch felt himself sigh. "Shinjuku. It just had to be Shinjuku."

And indeed it was. Shinjuku was about a ten minute walk from his location. "How much trouble do you think it can cause in ten minutes?" Lelouch asked, taking off towards the area in a steady jog.

Tsumemon made a noise. "If I can feel it from here, it's a champion at least. Could be an ultimate."

Lelouch frowned. As Keramon had said before, skipping champion level put Infermon at a high champion level of power. Unless Keramon was to devour large amounts of data before digivolving, but that wasn't an option right now. They would have to get there and hope for the best, first. "And to think, I had wanted to relax." The exiled prince muttered.

Minutes later, Lelouch had entered the proverbial badlands known as Shinjuku. He frowned as he saw numerous makeshift memorials erected in remembrance of those who had perished. His fist clenched. 'This should never have happened. Shinjuku should never have been demolished like this again...' He leaped over a fallen piece of rubble, darting into a ruined building to catch his breath for a moment. "Tsumemon, are we near it?"

The little digimon's antenna were standing straight up, it's single eye narrowed in a glare. "So close I can taste it. Keep going the direction you were heading. Drop the bag here for a second, I need to digivolve."

Lelouch sat the bag down, fully unzipping it as Tsumemon hopped out and digivolved. A moment later, Keramon stood before Lelouch. "Alright." The boy muttered, arm extending for Keramon to hold. "Let's go." Keramon coiled himself once more around his partner, and the duo were off as fast as Lelouch's body could go in the direction of the digital field.

"It's been about ten minutes since you first felt the field, let's hope that whatever popped up isn't too dangerous to it's surroundings..." Lelouch muttered as the fog came into view.

Something roared loudly, and the air was heating up quickly. "Shit. Keramon, now is the time." The boy grabbed his digivice from his pocket, holding it in front of him. "Digivolution."

The flash of light from the sudden intrusion distracted the beast that had just come in to view. A feeling of shock coursed through the veins of Infermon, courtesy of Keramon, as he got a good look at the enemy.

It was a reddish orange lion with a golden mane. Parts of it's body were covered with red and white armor, some of which seemed to be generating fire. From it's tail came another flame, and the most interesting part of the lion would be it's two orange wings, located just behing it's front legs. "Firamon? But, those are supposed to be extinct. Unless... have we stumbled into a battle between Apollomon and something as strong as him?" Infermon didn't have time to ponder further, as the Firamon had locked on to him and was now charging with intent to kill.

A quick dodge left the lion overextended, something Infermon took advantage of by striking the side of Firamon with his whiplike legs. "We need to end this fast." Infermon noted. If there was any chance at all that this digimon could digivolve to ultimate, they were fucked. Flaremon was not to be trifled with in their state.

Firamon recovered, roaring at them once more. "FIRA BOMB!" He shouted, sending a blast of intense flame at them from the fire generated in his headdress.

Infermon took a risk. "Network Grenade." The limbs retracted, leaving only the cocoonish shape of Infermon, which blasted forward and pierced through the fire attack. It hit Firamon dead on and sent him flying into a building, which promply fell.

After a few minutes of nothing happening, Infermon skittered over to check the wreckage for his foe. "Nothing?" He muttered. "Seems we've defeated it..."

A flash of light later, and Lelouch stood next to Keramon once more. "For one of those Olympians, this Firamon wasn't terribly strong." Lelouch pointed out.

Keramon shook his head. "Lelouch, that was Firamon, the champion level of Coronamon. Apollomon is the mega level that is among the Olympians. However, this couldn't just be some random Firamon, because those were all wiped out in what we've called the Eclipse war. Long story short, all of the digimon from the Apollomon and Dianamon lines went to war with one another, before they were attacked at their weakest by an unknown force. Apollomon went on to join the Empire, whereas Dianamon went off on her own and eventually joined with the Seven." He paused. "Every time Apollomon and Dianamon come across one another, the damage it causes is insane. Entire mountains have been destroyed under their battles before."

Lelouch frowned thoughtfully. "So, then... could Apollomon and Dianamon have battled one another and stumbled upon a tear between the world, emerging here?"

Keramon nodded. "It's possible. It's also possible that the bio-emergence could degenerate them, and force them into a frenzy. Dianamon and her line are known for strength of will, though, so it's possible she avoided that fate and fled."

"Which is why we only found a rampaging Firamon?" He asked.

The digimon shrugged. "It's a theory." He continued after a moment of thought. "But, if we're right, that means that two digimon with vast potential have entered the human world. I know we didn't destroy Firamon that easily."

"Maybe," Lelouch began, "when he was sent into the building, Firamon's mind cleared enough that he decided to retreat?"

"Once again, possible." Keramon agreed. "For the moment, we should look out for either of them. They could be valuable allies or frightening enemies."

Lelouch looked to the sky. "Keramon, I believe there was a large memorial site nearby here. I'm going to visit." While it wouldn't serve any real purpose other than to blow some time, he wanted to see it with his own eyes. The full extent of what his brother had done. He barely noticed Tsumemon slipping back into the back, even as his deft hands zipped it back until only a small area was left open to provide light and some fresh air for the small claw digimon.

Walking down the broken streets of Shinjuku, Lelouch couldn't help but feel pangs of sadness. He remembered Shinjuku before the war, despite being there only a few times. He remembered it just after the war aswell, stench of corpses and blood sickening him even now. And he saw it now, desolate and completely abandoned. Most of the locals had decided to try their luck elsewhere, making the trek to the other ghettos. It was disgusting that they were forced to live like this.

It made him angry, but at the same time sad. Why could people do this to other people without caring? What gave Britannia the right to push the Japanese into cities that _they _had broken in a war _they _had started after _they _violated a treaty? Ask any common Britannian and they would give you an answer.

Because Britannia was strong. And because the _Elevens _were weak. The strong were meant to tread on the weak. Because Britannia had won and Japan had lost. The winners chose how the losers got to live their lives, or if they even got to live at all. Or, worst of all, simply because a Britannian was better than a Japanese. No reasoning to prove the thought, they simply believed themselves to be better.

It was a damning answer that showed just how far Britannia had fallen in terms of human decency. "Is it right to be strong?" Lelouch asked himself. "Is it wrong to be weak?"

He sighed, cutting off his musings. Ahead of him he saw what he assumed to be the memorial site. It was a park, at some point. Now all that remained was a broken statue on a hill overlooking a garden of graves and memorials for those who couldn't be found. He found himself drawn to the treeline, running a hand over the bark of one of the trees.

"It's full of life even in a place as desolate as this." He noted. The boy sat his duffel bag down behind the tree, and leaned against it. He allowed his mind to wander, drifting back to fonder memories of simpler times. He was drawn into a memory of his stay at the Kururugi Shrine.

* * *

_A young Lelouch is wandering about the wilderness outside of the Kururugi Shrine, far away from prying eyes. He has a specific purpose in mind and nothing will stop him from accomplishing what he set out to do._

_Even if it was just him picking flowers for Nunally. But, really, that was a task more important than anything else he could think of. Nunally loved the smell of these flowers, so of course he would pick them for her. It was just how he was._

_However, he overheard something. Some sort of annoyed grumbling if he was correct. He supposed even his ever important task could wait for a few brief moments as he inspected this new source of noise. "Who's there?" He asked._

_A squeaky yelp confirmed that there was, in fact, someone here. "Come over here."_

_Moments later, a young black haired girl with green eyes wandered nervously out of the treeline. He frowned. "What's a little girl doing out here? Are you lost?" The boy asked._

_"A-are you the demon who kidnaps children and eats them?" She stuttered._

_The purple eyed boy raises a brow, before smirking as he decides to have a bit of fun. "Maybe." He offered a small shrug._

_"D-do you eat flowers?" She asked, noticing the bunch of nejibana in his hand. "Are you going to eat me too!?"_

_Lelouch rolled his eyes. "I'm picking the flowers for my sister. She likes their scent."_

_The girl's face scrunched up in confusion. "Demons can have sisters? And they like flowers?" She had calmed down significantly._

_Lelouch figured he could fix that. "Yes, flowers taste terrible but smell good, and my sister loves them. My specialty is eating children, though." He said it nonchalantly, as though he hadn't just claimed cannibalism._

_She squeaked in fright, pointing at him. "You are going to eat me!" She yelled, eyes wide and fearful. "Y-you don't want to do that! I t-taste terrible!"_

_"How would I know that if I didn't try?" He asked, licking his lips. This was fun._

_The girl, being young as she was and easily tricked, was quite terrified at the moment. So she fell back on the one thing that had always been a constant for her. "I-if you do that, th-then the Sumeragi family will not rest until they get you for it!"_

_He sneered. "What can the Sumeragi do to a demon? I'm exempt from your human laws."_

_"Be silent! I-I'm the heiress of the Sumeragi clan." She seemed to have been channeling all of her courage for that little outburst._

_Lelouch grinned in a sinister fashion, leaning in towards the girl slightly. "What does any of that mean to me? I'm a demon, remember?" He chided gently._

_"B-b-but... the Sumeragi clan would... uhm..." She seemed to have trouble coming up with just what her clan would do to a child-eating demon who wandered the forests._

_Lelouch snorted, deciding to stop messing with her. But not entirely. "Fine, fine." He muttered. "I get it. If the Sumeragi were to come after me it'd be a pain. I wouldn't be able to pick flowers for my sister as easily. I won't eat you, just go back to the shrine nearby."_

_At the mention of the Kururugi Shrine, the Sumeragi Heiress promptly plopped down on the ground and refused to move. "I don't wanna go back."_

_A curious pair of purple eyes regarded her for a moment, before he returned to his work in finding more of the corkscrew flowers. A few moments later her had enough, and turned to leave._

_Yes, he was going to leave a young girl to wander about the woods on her own. If he knew Suzaku, then the boy would already be looking for the missing heiress. She was, after all, his fiance. He knew exactly who this girl was. Sumeragi Kaguya._

_"W-wait!" She called after him, drawing his attention back to her. "Uhm.. are you going back to your village?"_

_"Yes." He replied. "Why?"_

_It was his turn to be surprised, as Kaguya suddenly got up and walked over to him. He simply raised a brow, before she reached up, grabbed his upper lip, and pulled upward. "Huh. You don't have fangs." Why did she sound so disappointed by that!?_

_He pulled away from the girl, and gave her glare. "Fangs or no, I'm really rethinking my decision not to eat you."_

_She frowned. "If you promise not to eat me, I'll let you abduct me."_

_He blinked. Just what the hell had they been putting this girl through at the shrine if she was willing to be kidnapped by a demon and taken to a fictional village of them? "You know, you should only do the things you really want to do." He told her. "I'm a demon, and yet I'm out here picking flowers for my little sister because I want to."_

_Kaguya's face scrunched up again. "But, since I'm a Sumeragi I can't do that."_

_Smiling like an old man about to impart an ancient wisdom, he replied. "Then wouldn't it be better not to be a Sumeragi?"_

_The girl stopped entirely there, and seemed to be deep in thought for another few minutes. "I... I can't do that. I don't know what I'd do if I wasn't a Sumeragi. It's all I've ever known."_

_Well, for ten years of his life Lelouch had only known the comfort of the Aries Villa and the love of his family. He had, inadvertently, chosen his answer to the question he had asked her. The moment he had gone up to the Emperor, he realized it was better not to be known as that man's child. So he had renounced his claim to the throne._

_Now he lived a relatively peaceful life in a shack on the premises of the Kururugi Shrine. Life was funny like that._

_"I see. It always goes back to that. If you weren't a Sumeragi, you couldn't use your trump card, right?"_

_"S-shut up!" She shouted._

_"You can't make me." He replied, smiling in a manner that always managed to infuriate Suzaku. "No one will want to kidnap you. You're just an empty person with nothing but a name."_

_Seeing her start to tear up, he sighed inwardly and changed his tone to a more comforting one. "So don't just be a name anymore. Become Kaguya instead of the Sumeragi Heiress. Then I could kidnap you." It was amusing how that seemed to comfort the girl._

_He heard someone trampling through the forest and rolled his eyes, knowing Suzaku was on his way. "Goodbye, Kaguya." He waved over his shoulder and disappeared into the brush just as he heard Suzaku's voice calling out for her._

_The last thing he heard before walking out of earshot was Kaguya begging Suzaku to forgive her for bullying him._

_He smiled__._

* * *

That had been his first meeting with Sumeragi Kaguya. Their next meeting was spent with her freaking out over the fact that there was a demon living in the shrine. He never bothered to confirm or deny any accusations of his less then human origins.

Eventually Kaguya grew out of accusing him of being a demon who ate little children.

Lelouch looked back towards the statue, wondering idly how long he had been sitting there reminiscing. He noticed the sky turning orange, a clear sign of sunset. "I've managed to blow an entire day between the chess tournament, the digimon, and this. It feels kinda good."

His attention was drawn to two familiar figures, clad in Ashford Academy uniforms, laughing and jeering as they took photos of the scarred earth around them. Yes, he knew those two. One of them was the guy from the camera club who had mentioned wanting to visit the ghettos after the purge. His face set into a stony glare as he saw them making asses of themselves here of all places. This was a graveyard for all intents and purposes.

Before he even realized what he was doing, his feet were carrying him towards the duo. Unknown to him, three other men were approaching from the other side of them, hidden from Lelouch by the hill.

He arrived just as they did, and blinked in shock. 'Tamaki, Yoshida, and Sugiyama?' He thought to himself. Either way, it didn't matter. He came over there for a reason.

He saw the shock on the faces of the two photographers as he came into their line of vision, and he glared at them harshly. "What the hell are you two doing?" His tone was positively glacial, and the boys actually shivered a bit.

The trio who had been coming to send the idiots packing had also stopped at the particular tone of his voice. Tamaki had stopped practically in the middle of a punch, blinking at him.

It still didn't matter. "Why. Are. You. Here." Lelouch demanded. "This is a graveyard. You two are insulting everyone who died in this place."

As soon as Lelouch saw the superior smirk on the face of the chubbier one, he knew exactly what was going to be said. "C'mon, Vice-President, they're just Elev- OOPH!"

Lelouch buried his fist in the stomach of the boy with enough force to knock him off of his feet. "It's a good thing you didn't finish that sentence. If you had, those three may have done more than just watch me knock some sense into you."

His skinny friend looked at Lelouch with unveiled anger. "What the hell, Lamperouge? You sucker punched Mike in the gut over a bunch of... uh.." He trailed off as Lelouch's gaze fell on him, having left his friend who was spluttering and coughing on his knees.

The prince glared at him. "You don't even get that each and every one of those random bits of pipe or wood are markers for people who died, do you? Or do you just not care that you came parading through here snapping pictures of everything like it's some tourist attraction? People _died _here." His fist was raised, ready to bring yet another fist down into one of his classmates, before a familiar voice cut in.

"Hold on, no violence please!" Kururugi Suzaku was rushing up towards the group, not having identified anyone in it yet.

Tamaki, Sugiyama, and Yoshida were all just staring in shock. That Britannian kid had just knocked the living hell out of one of his classmates, if the way they reacted to him were to be believed, for the exact same reason they had come over to scare them off. It wasn't often you saw that.

Lelouch sighed. "Hello, Suzaku." He greeted, waving at the startled brunette. This further surprised everyone involved, even the chubby boy who had been knocked for a loop by the less wimpy than suspected Vice President. He knew Kururugi?

"L-Lelouch?" He muttered, eyes wide. "What are you doing here?" The entire situation had been forgotten in favor of figuring out just why his oldest friend was in Shinjuku. Again.

"I came to pay my respects to the dead." He replied smoothly. "I lost track of time reminiscing about the good ol' days, and when I came-to I spotted these two oafs making a mockery of this place." The raven haired boy turned to regard the two he had mentioned. "Speaking of..." His back turned to Suzaku, and he angled himself in such a way that his face wasn't visible to the three rebels who had yet to act. "You two will return to Ashford, delete these photographs, and continue on with your day. There will not be a repeat of this incident. Understood?" Unseen by the four Japanese, the crest of Geass lit up in his left eye and the two boys fell under it's trance.

"Yes sir." They echoed lackadaisically, before heading off in the direction of the settlement quietly.

Tamaki, Yoshida, and Sugiyama were conversing quietly amongst themselves. "Wow." Kento muttered. "Never expected another Brit to send them packing."

Yoshida nodded, muttering his own agreement. "It is weird, isn't it? Looks like this one knows Kururugi, too."

The red head of their group surprised the other two by remaining quiet, seemingly lost in thought. This surprised his friends because the idea of Tamaki Shinichiro lost in thought was almost as ridiculous as the thought of Zero being a Britannian prince. And that was just a stupid suggestion Tamaki had thrown out last night to amuse his comrades.

Suzaku blinked at the dark haired boy. "I see." He replied. "So, uhm... how have you been?" They hadn't had much chance to talk in their last meeting.

Lelouch turned to him with a small smile. "I'm well. Nunally and I were both worried until we saw news of your acquittal."

The emerald eyed boy laughed. "I hope I didn't worry her too much. Is she well?"

"Yes, she's adapted well." Lelouch replied. "And you? You're fine aswell?"

"I'm doing great. Was just acquitted of a crime I didn't commit, and spent the day escorting a pink haired girl around the settlement. And then she asked me to bring her here, so..." He noticed his old friends violet orbs widen, and turned to see just what had caused this expression.

Standing a few yards away from the two was a pink haired girl with blue eyes. Her own eyes were wide, and her hands clenched her dress in surprise. "Lelouch, is that you?" She asked, breathlessly. Surely, it couldn't be? Was this really her brother? He looked just like Lelouch.

Suzaku blinked. She knew Lelouch?

His teeth clenched and he frowned heavily. 'If I run now, then she'll inform Cornelia. Her being here means that Cornelia is confirmed as the next Viceroy. I'll have to stay and either convince her I'm not her brother, or at least not to tell her sister of this. Last resort is Geass. But still, at this rate she's gong to want to oust me as a Britannian prince in front of three of Ohgi's men.' The exiled prince sighed in an exhausted manner.

A large explosion could be heard, distracting all those present. In the moments following, a large military transport pulled up while a silver haired man leaned out and began waving jovially at Suzaku. "The Purists are having a silly little squabble." The man exclaimed in a foppish manner. "Oh, sorry to hear about your acquittal." He added as an afterthought, a sly smirk on his lips. "Because that means you'll be back to working with us."

Suzaku ran up to the man. "Lloyd, wait. Let me take the Lancelot and break this up. After all, isn't a good chance to get battle data?"

"Ohoho." Lloyd Aspund giggling could only mean bad things.

* * *

After the arrival of the military transport, the three rebels had made like bananas and split. Suzaku had departed, and now Lelouch and Euphemia were left with only a foppish earl and his motherly assistant to watch over them. While the woman, a purple haired woman with blue eyes and a concerned expression, was monitoring the functions of the Lancelot quite intently, the other member of their group was not so concerned with Suzaku.

No, Lloyd was more intrigued by what seemed to be happening nearby his merry little transport. It would seem Princess Euphemia was making all sorts of friends in Area Eleven today.

"Lelouch, it is you isn't it?" Euphemia asked, moving towards him slightly. "We thought you had died."

Oh? A Lelouch whom the princess had suspected dead? His eyes panned over to the stone-faced boy, who was in turn inspecting him. Oh my, how interesting indeed. Lloyd was currently leaning against the side of his transport, an innocuous smile on his lips.

The boy was standing only a few feet away from the princess, and had yet to speak. He seemed to be trying to glare him away in favor of speaking to Euphemia.

Lloyd found it positively fascinating.

"Lelouch, please!" Even the ever-ambiguous scientist was surprised by this little outburst, the black haired lad even more so judging by his expression. "It's bee seven years, please tell me it's you. Don't crush my hopes again..." Oh dear she was crying now.

The boy seemed to think over his next course of action, however a glance at the tear streaked face of the pink haired girl Lloyd saw his stony expression break apart instantly. Seven years, hopes up again, Lelouch, purple eyes.

'Call me crazy, but I think I just stumbled onto a meeting between Royalty. Oh goody.' The Earl of Pudding was a man who liked information, and amused himself by monitoring the emotional decisions of normal people. Normal not saying they were below him, per se, simply that they weren't like him. Because nobody was quite like Lloyd Asplund.

His thoughts were all but confirmed when the boy wrapped his arms around the Princess, whispering something into her ear.

Only a member of the Royal Family would hug Euphemia li Britannia like that.

The pieces fell together and Lloyd couldn't help but grin.

Looks like the death of Lelouch vi Britannia was greatly over-exaggerated

* * *

"It's me, Euphie." Lelouch whispered into her ear. "I'm alive."

He could feel her trembling, and hear the tremors in her voice as she spoke. "Lelouch... You're alive. You're alive." She kept repeating herself, hugging him tightly. He sighed and held her tightly as she buried her face in his chest and sobbed.

"Yes, I'm fine." He spoke. "I'm sorry for trying to ignore you. It's just..." He trailed off, searching for something nicer to say than "I didn't want to be found."

"You didn't want us to find you." She cut him off. "You wanted to stay hidden, right? You don't want to come back home." Her tears were soaking his uniform as she cried into his chest.

He felt indescribably guilty now. Here was one of the few members of his family he cared for, the one ranking just under Nunally for that matter, and he had gone and made her cry. And worst of all there was a smirking scientist silently observing their reunion. He would have to use his Geass to erase the man's memory of this. Thankfully, his apparent assistant didn't have a line of sight to them at the moment, and was otherwise occupied with Suzaku.

Who was the pilot of that white Knightmare frame, the Lancelot, but that could wait until later.

So could the scientist, for that matter. Now was Euphie's time.

"Yes. I'm sorry, but I didn't want Nunally to be used as a political pawn by the Empire again." He stopped as a petite fist lightly beat itself against his chest.

"Stop apologizing, you dummy." Euphie looked up from his chest, a bright smile on her face even as tears streamed down her cheeks. "I've been waiting seven years to hug you again, Lelouch. Let me enjoy it."

He smiled warmly at her. Yes, Euphemia hadn't changed in the slightest. She was the same girl he loved. Hopefully, however, her old habits had changed.

She huffed. "You know, this is going to make marrying you a lot more difficult, Lelouch." He could hear the pout in her voice.

Lelouch groaned. "You're still on about that? Nunally won't be happy about it at all." He should have known she would still end up pestering him about this.

"Nunna's had you all to herself for seven years." The smirk was audible. "I've got a lot of _catching_ _up_ to do."

Wait. Catching up? He didn't like the way she said that. "What do you mean by "catching up"?"

Her hands moved from around his chest and snaked their way to his head, and she pulled him closer.

Shocked by the sudden forcefulness of his half-sister, he was tugged right along.

And right into Euphemia's waiting lips.

In a moment that felt more like an hour, Euphemia pulled away and smiled brightly at him. "I've wanted to do that again for years." She said in a content tone.

"E-Euphie..." Lelouch muttered, blushing like mad. "We're not kids anymore, you know..." It had been cute when they were children. She was still cute, for that matter, with the way her cheeks puffed out in annoyance and she glared at him.

"I don't care. If I want to kiss the boy I always wanted to marry, I will." Something in her tone was just daring him to argue.

He didn't. "You are incorrigible."

She smiled at him. "And you're almost prettier than me."

Lelouch gave her a dead-pan look. "Doubtful."

His sister just kept smiling. "Does that mean you think I'm pretty?" She asked.

The boy's eyes rolled. "Any man who doesn't think you're beautiful is either blind, stupid, or gay." He really felt that way, too. Euphemia had grown into a lovely young woman over the years.

She blushed prettily at his comment. "Flattery will get you nowhere."

"That's fine. I like where we're at right now." Lelouch pointed out with a smirk.

"And you said I was incorrigible."

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to hug my beloved sister, is there?"

"Not a thing." She agreed.

"Ahem. Sorry to interrupt." The voice of the silver haired scientist cut in. "But Suzaku will be back any moment." He nodded towards the front seat of the transport, where Lelouch spotted a blushing woman in an orange uniform trying her best not to look like she had been watching them.

Euphemia pouted as the two of them separated from their hug. She turned to the scientist. "Earl Asplund, as Third Princess of the Holy Empire of Britannia I ask that you keep this entire meeting secret. That goes for your assistant aswell."

Lloyd smiled. "Of course. I know how much the royalty value their secrets. Isn't that right, Prince? Oh don't look at me like that, I'm not going to tell anyone. If I wasn't executed for treason I'm sure you'd kill me yourself, right?" He chuckled. "Cecile will keep quiet too." The man looked over to the woman who was trying to shrink into her seat. "Right, Cecile?" He asked.

"Yes sir!" She replied hastily, looking everywhere but at them.

"Euphie, please don't tell Cornelia about me being alive. While you may understand my reasons for wanting to stay hidden, I don't know if she would." He was surprised by the smile on Euphemia's face as she replied to him.

"Lelouch." She began. "Cornelia is the one who told me that you wouldn't want to be found if you were alive. She misses you just as much as I do. Please reconsider?"

He frowned. Cornelia was going to be Viceroy, and he was going to be opposing Britannia openly as Zero. If she learned of his existence, she may piece together just who Zero was from his actions alone. It would be dangerous for him.

But that damn pout of Euphie's was getting to him... And he really did want to see his older sister again, damn the risks. But he couldn't... He could use Geass on her, maybe... No, he wasn't sure about what it's long term effects would be. He was already feeling guilty for Geassing that girl to mark on the walls of Ashford after realizing that his power wasn't simply short term.

How was that girl going to live if his power never wore off? She would be compelled to come to Ashford every day of her life to mark on that wall. He felt terrible about that. If he ever found a way to cancel his Geass, she would be the first he used it on.

Back to the topic at hand, Lelouch wasn't sure what to do about Cornelia. "Just don't tell her for now, Euphie." She deflated, but his next words perked her up a bit. "I'm going to school at Ashford Academy right now. Call the principle if you want to talk to me, ask for Alan Spacer. He'll know what it means."

"Alright, fine." She pouted again. "I won't tell Cornelia. But you have to let me visit you and Nunally some time."

"I will." He replied.

"Good. I'm going to want another kiss when I come to visit, so you may want to get some practice in."

"Urk."

* * *

After a quick greeting to Suzaku, revealing to Suzaku that he had been escorting the Third Princess around all day, and making sure that Suzaku knew that he and the members of Camelot were not to reveal the fact that he had met with his sister, Lelouch had retreated back into the tree line to retrieve his duffel bag and the rather put off Digimon inside.

"You left me." Tsumemon said simply, leveling a dead-pan stare at the apologetic Lelouch.

"Sorry." He replied.

"Meh." The little blue hand attempted to shrug, not that Lelouch could even see it with him being inside of the duffel bag. "I'll forgive you. Never let it be said I'm a bad guy."

"Thank you, Tsumemon."

* * *

A small creature, mainly white but with lavender accents along it's large rabbit-like ears, stumbled along the roads of Shinjuku. It had a pair of pink ribbons coming over it's shoulder, crossing over one another and connected by a grey broach with a smiling crescent moon on it. It's pinkish red eyes were half closed as it wandered aimlessly.

As the creature stumbled forward and fell, a pair of gentle hands caught it. "Poor thing. Are you alright?" It heard a voice ask.

No, the creature was not alright. It was injured heavily from a conflict that was centuries old but simply would not die out. Not until one or both of them were deleted.

The creature was unwilling to go down alone. But for now it needed rest. It was so weak. Even weaker than it's foe had been.

It was through sheer luck that the two of them had been brought into the Human World. The creature had been losing it's fight, and only the interference of Lady Luck had saved it.

"Come on, I'll take you with me. You must be exhausted. Are you hungry?"

The creature remained silent, but a subtle growl from it's stomach was all the answer it's savior needed.

"You'll be feeling better in no time, don't worry!" The voice assured the small creature.

With a small voice, the creature spoke once before passing out. "Thank you..."

The creature's savior smiled softly, cradling it in her arms. "You're welcome. Let's go home now."

As she spoke, a group of men who could only be her bodyguards took up positions around her.

And then they departed.

* * *

"So, you knew all along that Prince Lelouch survived?" Cecile asked Suzaku, sitting in the back of their transport with the boy and her boss.

Suzaku blushed a bit, scratching his cheek. "Yeah. The three of us traveled through the war zone together until we were forced to separate. It had been Lelouch's idea, he said that a mixed party wouldn't find help from anyone."

"He was right." Lloyd cut in. "Britannian's would probably have shot you even if they knew that you were with the prince and Princess. And then I would still be without a devicer for my Lancelot!"

Cecile smacked him. "Lloyd, is that all you're concerned about?"

The man paused thoughtfully, as though pondering what he should say. "No, of course not. If Suzaku had died I would never have had the pleasure of meeting him?" The way he said it worded it more as a question than a statement.

Cecile nodded exasperatedly. Lloyd clapped giddily like a child who had guessed the correct answer to a test question, furthering Cecile's exasperation. Suzaku smiled at the scene, starting to feel like he was genuinely a part of something.

Of course, with Lloyd it was literally to be taken as a "part", Devicer to be specific, of his Lancelot. But, still, it was a place to belong. He hadn't felt like he belonged in over seven years.

And then the transport shook as though something was ramming it. Lloyd fell over while wailing dramatically, having been leaning against the wall in a very precarious manner. Cecile kept her balance, eyes shifting around to observe the situation within the transport.

By that point, Suzaku was already outside and seeing just what had rammed their vehicle.

It was... a lion?

A small, coming up to about his waist if he had to guess, bipedal lion looking creature was punching the wall of the transport rapidly, beginning to leave dents in the metal after it concentrated it's effort.

"Damn it damn it damn it!" It shouted, fists slamming over and over into the metal. "I almost had that wench Dianamon! What trickery did she employ, sending us to the world of Humans!? How doth she cheat me so, to deny me my glorious victory! And even worse, I find myself in this pathetic ROOKIE form! RAHHHHHH!" The punches doubled in speed, threatening to actually bust through the wall.

Suzaku wasn't willing to let that happen, and proved it by ferociously kicking the digimon away from the transport. "Bah! How dare you raise your hand to me! Thou shall pay for besmirching my honor with your underhanded strike!" And then the digimon leaped towards him, small fists flying at insane speed.

Suzaku abused his reach to avoid the punches, slipping kicks in through the shoddy guard of the digimon who was obviously unfamiliar with needing to block.

Another punch came, this time the creature had overextended too far. Suzaku made note and took advantage.

The fist was grabbed, and the digimon was lifted above Suzaku's head, before being slammed down on it's stomach with it's hands restrained.

"What? Bested in close combat by a human? I am shamed!" The digimon shouted. "To think such a mighty warrior as myself hath been reduced to mere fodder..."

"Hold on!" Suzaku yelled, drawing the attention of the sulking digimon. "Why were you attacking our transport? We did nothing to provoke you."

"I doth not care for your transport. I wished to vent my insurmountable anger upon something and grew tired of breaking apart rubble." It replied.

The Japanese boy was confused by the manner of speech this digimon was using. It was a bizarre mix of Olden English with more modern speech habits. Very peculiar. "Oh. Is that all?" He asked.

"I shan't repeat myself once more, knave. Yes, I hath no ill will to bear against thine kin. Now release me so that I may sulk in peace."

"Oh. If you want, we could keep fighting? Think of it like a spar. Release some of your pent up anger." Suzaku offered, having enjoyed the brief opportunity to use his hard earned fighting skills for something other than restraining his old friend on accident.

The digimon stiffened for a moment, before it seemed to find it's spirit. "Very well then, fellow warrior!" It said, a distinct change from it's earlier dismissive tone. "I see now that my combat prowess hath deteriorated from many a Sun of superiority over my foes. You shall aid me in rekindling my flame!"

"So, what should I call you?" Suzaku asked, releasing the small digimon from the pin.

"Thou may refer to me as Coronamon! Now, ready thyself and let us begin our next match!"

And then they fought again. And again. And again.

Cecile looked on in awe as their newest recruit got into repeated brawls with a digimon that could dent the thick metal walls of their transport.

Lloyd was just chuckling about the absurdity of it all.

* * *

Stuff happened this chapter, I made a pretty big divergence from canon I guess. I've said it before, but this Lelouch is going to be more emotional, since emotions tie so deeply into Digivolution in pretty much every rendition of Digimon I've ever seen. Heartless, cold, logical Lelouch would fare about as well as the Digimon Emperor from season two. He had emotions, they were just negative ones. And Lelouch tends to gravitate towards negative emotions too in the anime. But yeah, he's gonna be more feelsy and that lets me throw in conflict between his emotions and his logic that is greater than canon over things that aren't nearly as big as the things that invoke emotion in him in the anime.

Suzaku won't be getting Guilmon, for those of you who guessed him. Keep trying, Guilmon won't be appearing for a decent amount of time. Instead, he's gotten Coronamon while a mysterious person has retrieved Lunamon, both of whom are the formerly Mega level digimon who had been involved with the warring factions of the Digital World.

On the note of the Eclipse War (Har har I'm so good with naming things), it's a cliche for sure. But it works for my needs. Lelouch and friends will not be going to the Digital World for a while, but they will be going there.

Uhm, nothing else really left to say. As far as Euphemia kissing Lelouch, I'll leave you on your own to speculate whether I have plans for that to go deeper or whether it's just Euphie being Euphie. If you'll recall, in canon she had believed Lelouch to be alive and be Zero for a while before Kamine. So, there, it wasn't so much of a shock as it was Euphemia confirming what she already knew. Here, the emotions are fresh and she doesn't suspect him of being Zero, so there's less to think about and more emotion coming to the surface.

I'm trying to be impartial to Suzaku, considering I REALLY don't like him. I don't want to blatantly make things suck for him any more than they did in canon, but... meh. So am I doing a good job not making him look like any more of an ass than he is naturally?

Also, I really really like Lloyd. He's just an awesome character and I wish he was used more often. I have things in store for him, especially now that there is a Digimon in the midst of Camelot.

And don't forget to review. Because reviews make me happier than Columbus with speed boats.

And that's happy.


	4. Chapter 4

I may have accidentally mislead people in saying that Anya's digimon was a dragonoid. In actuality, it's a cyborg digimon, but it's a "Dramon". I should have said that earlier, but meh. Sorry for that little misunderstanding.

Demon: I am NOT a crook! Nor do I own Code Geass. They took the paper from me while I was busy pondering.

C.C.: And I took-*She's cut off by a gunshot, falling to the ground.*

Lelouch: A bullet to the head. I'm glad she's immortal, otherwise I would feel bad for that.

Demon: You know she's going to get you back for that, right?

Lelouch: Worth. It.

Demon: I guess.

Anya: Just start the story.

Demon: Fine! God, you're so pu...shy...

Anya: *Currently inside of the Mordred* Just start the story.

Demon: MEEP!

* * *

Anya stared at the uniform sitting on her bed. It was a simple pink uniform, nothing special about it. Except for the fact that it was a school uniform. Anya couldn't remember the last time she had been to school.

But, really, Anya couldn't remember a lot of things. Or anything, really. For a time, she would remember the things that happened, but one day she would wake up and it would all be gone again.

According to her diary, she had remembered for an entire month straight before it all vanished. And then the process would begin once more, with her instinctively checking her phone and reading through the entire thing, entry by entry, to see what she had missed. It never made her remember, but it was supposed to be comforting.

Anya didn't feel comfortable when she looked through that phone and remembered nothing.

But she always did, and once she had she knew why. Because of that picture.

The picture that showed a young Lelouch vi Britannia holding a rose and smiling at her. The picture she could remember taking. Everything that she had done at the Aries Villa while in the company of Lelouch, Nunally, or Lady Marianne came back to her after she saw that picture.

And it made her happy.

Emotions, like memories, were not familiar to Anya. She knew she had them, but they were... dulled. She rarely smiled, and when she did it was forced. Usually done so to appease Gino, if the pictures headings were any indicator. Generally they were titled "So Gino Will Stop Bothering Me", or something along those lines. Apparently, Gino was her only real friend.

Well, her only human friend. She always had her constant companion to greet her, every morning. He knew there was always a chance that she would wake up and not remember who he was, and he didn't mind it. He always reminded her to look through her phone and relearn as much as she could.

For some reason, though, he could never tell her what happened when she blacked out and wound up in odd places. He said that every time he tried to follow her during her black outs, she would always absorb him back into the digivice she carried at her waist, before leaving it in her room. Over time, he had realized the futility in following her.

When she blacked out, she always came back to her room eventually and woke the next day with no memories. With him trapped in the digivice, he couldn't always be there to explain who she was or suggest looking through her phone.

It was better for both of them if he didn't follow her.

Anya looked towards the small form of her companion, Missimon, as he hovered his missile-like body over the bed curiously. "Why are they making you go to school?" He asked, curiously.

"I don't know." Anya admitted in her usual monotone. She lifted her phone, snapping a picture of the uniform. "Recorded."

"It's odd. I thought when we were shipped off to Area Eleven we'd be sent off to terrorist hideouts to blow'm up, not sent to this Ashford Academy place. It doesn't really make sense." His small arms, connected to his main body by metallic cables, were waving about lazily as he floated.

She shrugged lackadaisically. "Does it matter?" She asked. "We have to go. And today is our first day." She at least remembered that, considering she had been reminded of it this morning by Missimon. Even though her "memory wipes" happened after her blackout incidents, she still forgot things on an average basis.

"Maybe you'll make another friend or two." Said the missile digimon.

"Maybe." Anya replied dully. Did it matter? She would just forget them.

A few minutes later, the Knight of Six was dressed in a school uniform and looking herself over in her mirror. She aimed her phone at the mirror and a click could be heard. "Recorded."

"It's kinda creepy when you do that." Missimon noted.

Anya shrugged again. "Whatever."

If Missimon's eyes were capable of it, they would be rolling.

"Let's go." Anya said, walking out of her room in the Viceroy's Palace, which had been taken over by Cornelia the morning she arrived. Judging by the large amount of frantic running, the iron fist of the Witch of Britannia had fallen. Hard.

Missimon followed behind the girl, occupying his time by performing barrel rolls. If one listened closely, they could hear him humming something. "Do, do, do a barrel roll!" He sang.

Anya ignored the spectacle her partner was creating, continuing her walk. She couldn't use her knightmare for traveling purposes, apparently, and she hadn't thought of how she was going to arrange transportation. She could always take a cab, but...

"Missimon." She said, slowing to a stop after getting the attention of her partner. "Want to go for a run?"

The in-training understood exactly what she meant. "You sure? Won't people freak out?"

"Probably." She shrugged again. "Does it matter?"

Missimon blinked. "You know, you have a point. You're the knight of six. We can pretty much do anything." He forgot that sometimes.

Anya held up her digivice, a simple rectangular device with a darkened screen and a couple of buttons. Her's was a combination of dark grey and pink. "Digivolution." She intoned.

The girl couldn't explain why, but there was just something liberating about that word. Emotions weren't her forte, but if she had to associate one to that word it would be freedom. It was like whatever was dulling her emotions paused for a brief moment every time she used the power in this Digivice.

"Missimon, digivolve to..." A dinosaur colored with a digital camo pattern in varying shades of dark blues, whites, and grays appeared. It was garbed in a typical kevlar vest, which had two hoses of some sort connecting it to a common soldier's hat on it's head. Amber eyes stared out from behind the mask that covered it's face, leaving the reptilian maw free of any clothing. On it's back was a pack filled to bursting with various implements of destruction, and perhaps the most interesting part of the digimon was that it was wielding an assault rifle, which was quickly slung over it's back.

"Commandramon, digivolve to..." And just as soon as he had become rookie, he digivolved further. While Commandramon was wearing body armor, this new digimon was covered from head to toe in light, but sturdy, metal combat armor. It was approximately three times the height of Anya, and the backpack and rifle had disappeared to be replaced by a single combat knife in the right hand of the digimon, which was quickly sheathed in an arm holster to match the second knife. It's tail remained, though now it looked mechanical rather than even slightly organic. It's head had also become less organic, covered entirely by metal. Covering, or perhaps in place of, it's eyes were two circular lenses, one red and one a glassy blue. A small fin poked out from the top of it's head.

"Sealsdramon." The champion level stated, kneeling down to pick up Anya, gently, in his arms. "Hold on, Anya." He suggested, reeling back to prepare.

The girl did so without emotion, knowing exactly what was to come.

Soundlessly, Sealsdramon sprinted off at break-neck speeds, leaping onto buildings in order to avoid traffic. They were moving so fast that the people going about their daily lives hardly noticed the grayish blue blur streaking about on the rooftops.

That was good, Anya supposed. "This is fun." She muttered to herself, though the wind generated from the speed they were moving drowned it out to her own ears.

"Glad you're enjoying it." Sealsdramon had picked up on the sound, somehow. And for some odd reason his voice wasn't affected at all by the wind.

Either way, Anya was glad she was enjoying this too. It was rare that she felt such strong emotion that she could actually tell what it was.

She almost smiled.

* * *

Suzaku chuckled nervously, eyeing the black and gold uniform before him with obvious discomfort. It wasn't the uniform so much as what it symbolized.

It would be the first time Suzaku went to school, and it would be in a Britannian private school. There was only one person who could pull enough strings to get him in no questions asked, and also had motivation to do so.

Princess Euphemia seemed to think he needed to finish his schooling, despite the fact that he was already enlisted in the Britannian Military. It was a nice thought, he supposed, but in practice it was something he was dreading.

He had always been home schooled, taught by a tutor. For a single year, he had one "classmate" in Lelouch. But even then it was debatable whether or not he was a classmate since they had separate tutors. His father hadn't separated them because of their race, he had done it because Lelouch was simply too far ahead of Suzaku for the boy to catch up. After a while it was also shown that Lelouch was outpacing the tutor, and the man had informed Genbu that his services were being wasted as the boy was learning almost entirely on his own.

And so within a few weeks that tutor had left, and Lelouch kept up his studies entirely on his own. And he still outpaced Suzaku by years.

Ashford Academy wouldn't be like that. Not only would there be a single teacher and many students, but they would all be Britannian. And he would be an Eleven. That was just asking for trouble, and if anyone other than Princess Euphemia decided to send him there he would have figured it was some cruel way to torture him.

But it had been the doing of Princess Euphemia, who was a beacon of kindness and caring. So for whatever reason she had done it, it wasn't malicious.

Hopefully his classmates (That word was so foreign to him...) would be as accepting of him as she was. He doubted it, but the thought was comforting.

"Art thou certain this is necessary?" Asked Coronamon, seated on his bed beside the uniform, looking it over with curiosity. "Doth thou not have other duties to attend?"

The digimon had adapted easily enough to being a rookie. While losing the power he had as a mega had been a terrible blow to his pride, he simply accepted that it meant he would have to build himself back up, even better than before. And while he continued to get stronger, he would accompany this particular human who had gained his respect.

This Suzaku Kururugi was a powerful combatant, a person kind enough to allow him to regain his honor through battle after battle, and a person decent enough not to mock him for losing a vast majority of their spars. Yes, he daresay he liked this human. Certainly better company than some he had called comrade.

So, with that in mind, he had decided this human would be his comrade. And since he had been bested in combat numerous times by this remarkable human, Coronamon accepted him as his superior.

Suzaku had insisted they were both equals, furthering Coronamon's respect for him.

However, due to the arrangements the two of them were now being shanghaied into, Coronamon would have to swallow his pride and degenerate _again _into Sunmon, the most useless form of his entire line. It didn't sit well with him, but he would deal with it in order to continue to accompany his human.

Heh. His human. The thought actually broke the digimon into a small series of chuckles, drawing Suzaku's attention.

"Something the matter, Coronamon?" He asked.

"T'is nothing, Suzaku. Merely a thought crossing my mind, bringing forth a degree of merriment." The digimon replied to _his _human.

"Oh. Alright." The boy shrugged, looking himself over. He had finished changing into the uniform, and while it was comfortable he still felt some of his nervousness. "Well." He started, opening a knapsack similar to the one he had while escorting Euphemia. "Sorry, but if you want to come with me you're going to have to hide. Lloyd has yet to assign you as a part of Camelot, so I'm not supposed to have you at all."

Coronamon growled. "I agreed to ally myself to you, Suzaku Kururugi. No other hath earned my respect or trust. I shall't call someone unworthy my comrade." With that, he degenerated into Sunmon.

"Uh." Suzaku blinked.

"Yes?"

"How are you supposed to hide out in my bag if you're head is on fire?"

Sunmon blinked. "... I doth not know."

"Shit."

"Verily."

* * *

Thankfully, Sunmon had eventually figured out how to put out the fire on his head. He had then blushed brightly, and quickly leaped into the knapsack. When Suzaku called him out on his peculiar behavior, the reply had surprised and amused him.

"I doth feel nude without my fire." Had been the embarrassed reply of the in-training digimon.

Suzaku couldn't stop his laughing, which had garnered him some odd looks as he walked down the streets of the Tokyo Settlement. Thankfully, his apartment (shabby and run-down though it may be), was close enough to Ashford Academy that he could walk there with no issue.

He could always call a cab, but there was no guarantee that they would actually bother to pick up an Honorary Britannian. So, in the end, it was faster to just walk. Suzaku didn't mind, it simply meant more exercise for him.

Though the first time he had hailed a cab, only to be promptly kicked out due to his ethnicity, had stung a bit. He got over it, though.

Just one more thing he would need to change.

Change... His thoughts drifted back to Zero. He frowned. 'There hasn't been any word of him acting again. Where will he strike?' Suzaku was worried about Zero, because a man who could do things like what he had done was a dangerous foe. He would need to be taken care of quickly, before he became a serious problem.

With two men, Zero had faced down eight Sutherlands. And he had won without firing a single shot. Either he was a genius or he had the devils luck. Possibly both.

And right now they had no idea where he was. Not even a trace of him.

That was bad. So he worried. Zero may not have killed anyone on that bridge, but who's to say he won't kill anyone the next time he shows? If what happened on the bridge wasn't just a fluke, then Zero may have the power to oppose Britannia.

But that wouldn't change anything. He would just be imposing himself over the people as opposed to Britannia. Suzaku preferred the logic of a system to the emotions of an individual.

When emotions ran high, disaster was sure to follow. He knew that lesson well.

A single person should not let their emotions dictate how other people lived.

He had done that once before. His emotions had screamed at him to stop the pointless fighting, and he did. A ten year old boy had made a decision that changed the course of history for Japan.

Kururugi Suzaku had slain his own father. Not a day went by that the guilt didn't gnaw at him. He had taken Japan's choice away, he had taken his father's life. Now he would repent by changing the system the right way. This way, he would change the system and make it better.

Now, as the pilot of the Lancelot, he was well on his way. Suzaku knew how important Knightmare Frames were to Britannia, and he knew that Lloyd's Lancelot was currently the top dog.

With Lancelot, Suzaku could rise through the ranks. All it would take is gaining a reputation for himself, and the opportunity would come soon. The new Viceroy was Cornelia li Britannia, who had just established Area 18. She would be going after terrorists left and right. And she was especially gunning for Zero, who had taken the life of Prince Clovis.

All it would take is for Suzaku to make himself invaluable to the Britannian Military, and his name would game recognition and respect. With that, more of his people would step up and make a name for themselves.

It was not a goal that he would see completed in his life time, this much he knew. But he would be able to rest easy after seeing his plans come to fruition.

One day, this world would be a better place for everyone.

* * *

She blinked the sleep out of her eyes, looking around wearily. After a moment, her stomach growled and she groaned. She heard a voice, and turned in the direction of it's owner. "Oh, you're awake!"

"Huh?" She muttered, looking over her surrounding. Tatami flooring, sliding paper doors, and what seemed to be a garden outside. Lunamon was quite certain she was not in the digital world anymore. Her stomach growled again, and she clutched her belly in pain. Being an organic digimon was a pain sometime. Things like needing to eat were so bothersome.

"Here." The rookie digimon looked up from her suffering to see a tray of rice-balls. "Go ahead, eat up."

She did just that, with no regard for her manners until about the fourth rice ball. "A-ah. Thank you for your kindness." Lunamon muttered, embarrassed by her behavior.

Her benefactor gave her a brilliant smile. "It's no problem. I couldn't just let you go hungry, you know."

Lunamon flinched. "Not everyone has such trouble." She replied bitterly, recalling various digimon stumbling into the territory of the Seven after having been starved out of their land by the Empire. She couldn't remember how many villages they had ousted that way.

"Well, they should." The girl, a young human with long black hair and emerald eyes, responded. "Are you feeling better now?" She asked.

"Yes, thanks to you." Lunamon answered. "May I have ask your name?"

"Sumeragi Kaguya." She replied. "And yours?"

"For now, you can call me Lunamon."

Kaguya nodded. "You've still got a whole tray left, feel free to keep eating. You can't be full just yet."

The rookie blushed, embarrassed that the girl had seen through her so easily. "I couldn't..." She didn't want to impose herself onto the girl too much.

Lunamon noticed her savior's eyes roll, and the small smirk that came to her lips. "It's no burden to me if you eat your fill. So go ahead, it's fine."

It wasn't often that Lunamon saw such kindness. While the Seven had been a better alternative to the Empire, in her opinion, it was still a very dog-eat-dog kingdom. The strong ruled over that kingdom and could do what they pleased, until someone stronger took their place. The ruling system was basically small territories ruled by either a single strong digimon or a group of strong digimon, who did what they pleased so long as they didn't offend an even stronger digimon.

Some of those territories had been ruled over by kind leaders who treated their followers fairly and protected them, others were ruled by fear of what would happen if they didn't listen or tried to escape.

Her territory had been large, and she had been fair. Many of the Demon Lords ruled over their territories relatively fairly, aswell. She recalled her surprise at the fact that Beelzemon, the Demon Lord of Gluttony, hadn't been terribly abusive of his domain.

Unfortunately, she was not surprised that the Demon Lord of Greed had been using his subjects to further his material wealth. It was rather obvious that this would be the case, but she had hoped for better. Still, despite seeing them as possessions, or rather because of this, Barbamon would tear apart anything that tried to harm them.

Leviamon ruled as fairly as could be expected by the Demon Lord of Envy, considering that there really was nothing for him to envy from his subjects. They were weaker than him, they stayed far away from him unless called for, and he fought ferociously to protect them because they were his subjects, and his responsibility.

Lucemon was prideful and it showed in how he ruled. His subjects were the best, and so they were treated like the best. Until they fell out of his favor, but even then they would simply fade into obscurity in his realm until they regained their worth. Lucemon's pride was also what made him one the most ferocious against attackers, because any attack on his subjects was a direct insult to him. And Lucemon did not take insults well.

Lilithmon and Belphemon shared their territory, and as such it was the largest of them. The ruling was mostly left to Lilithmon, because Belphemon preferred to sleep. However, whenever threats to the territory arrived Belphemon was simply transported to their location, and Lilithmon would wake him up. Chaos would ensue, the threat would be dealt with, and Belphemon would go back to sleep. It was probably the "best" of the territories to live in simply because Lilithmon was not overly spiteful to her subjects, it had two Demon Lord Digimon on hand to protect it at a moment's notice, and because it was the largest of the realms and thus not overly crowded.

The worst to live in, without question, would be the realm of Daemon. It was the smallest territory, and it's ruler was the most violent of the Demon Lords. He wasn't the lord of Wrath for no reason. His territory was a desolate wasteland and the few that were brave or foolish enough to make their homes in it could be destroyed at any moment by their leader simply because he was bored and angry.

And this is why Daemon was given the eastern border as his territory, because there was never a shortage of Empire digimon for him to demolish. He didn't protect his territory so much as destroy everything that the other six told him he could. Wrathful or not, he had yet to turn his attentions to the numerous other territories on the other side of his simply because it would bring the combined fury of several Demon Lords down on his head.

During her mental monologue, Lunamon had unconsciously cleared the tray of onigiri.

"I knew you would be hungry." Kaguya said, a smug smile on her face.

Lunamon blushed. "I was lost in thought..."

"Oh? About what?" Her benefactor asked.

And that led to a lecture about the politics of the digital world, which Kaguya paid a great deal of attention to. Not only was it new to her, it was all very interesting to hear about.

* * *

Mornings for Lelouch were a simple affair at one point. Now it was more complicated.

It really shouldn't be, yet it was. The main reason for this would be the fact that C.C. and he were sharing a bed due to circumstances out of his control (Of course circumstance means immortal witches in this case), and C.C. moved in her sleep.

She also enjoyed cuddling things as she slept, which is why we find our protagonist staring at the ceiling with a dull look on his face, unable to move without disturbing C.C. and debating whether or not getting up was really worth the effort. He was quite comfortable.

But he had skipped the day prior, to go gambling again with Rivalz. He still needed hobbies, after all. And Rivalz had been quite adamant that they weren't hanging out enough anymore, so he decided to indulge the bluenette and go gambling with him. He had even arranged a meeting with a new noble, one who hadn't been demolished by the Black Prince.

That had been an offer Lelouch simply could not pass up. The looks on the faces of nobles as he decimated them for the first time was always priceless.

This brings us back to the problem at hand. Lelouch knew he should get up, but in doing so he would A, wake up C.C., and B, remove himself from the comfort of his bed in which a beautiful woman was pressing herself tightly to his side.

Decisions, decisions. Eventually, he sighed, hands moving to delicately remove the witch's limbs from his own. He was trying not to wake her, buuuuuut...

"I prefer to be woken with a kiss." She muttered. "Though, if you're up for it, I wouldn't mind one now." C.C. flirted shamelessly.

Lelouch rose a brow. "Do you expect me to decline?" He asked.

"Considering you're still talki-mph." She was cut off by his lips covering hers, briefly.

"It's more fun to do it like that." The boy noted. There were some very nice things about having C.C. around, such as being able to do things like that without fear of the way others would react.

C.C. gave him a deadpan look. "You need more practice." She noted. "It can wait, though."

Lelouch rolled out of bed, stretching and yawning as he did so. "Today ought to be fun. The Principle mentioned new students were to be arriving today, but I didn't bother to see who. I'll probably never interact with them beyond Milly bugging the council into throwing them a welcoming party."

"You have welcoming parties for every new student you get?" C.C. asked, disbelieving. Celebrating over something as meaningless as that?

"Yes, blame Milly. Ashford Academy has about four minor events every two months or so, and a major one every four. It's rather hectic for those with the misfortune of planning them." Lelouch replied. "Of course, by "those who plan them", I mean myself. Milly tells me what she wants, I tell Rivalz and Shirley what needs to get done, and Nina just sits back and watches it all go on with a small smile." How she never got too deeply ingrained into Milly's schemes, Lelouch would never know.

Lelouch quickly went about the usual morning rituals of brushing his teeth, washing his face, and combing his hair. It never took long, he worked fast. Soon he was standing before the mirror giving himself a final check to make sure everything was in order.

"You know, Lelouch, being immortal gets boring sometimes." C.C. called, drawing his attention. She gave him a small smirk. "I need to do things to keep myself entertained. Who knows, if I get too bored I may just go wandering about the campus dressed in your casual clothes..." It wasn't a threat. It was just an observation. Who knew what would happen when the immortal witch got bored and needed to play?

He sighed, glancing at her. "What do you want?" Probably his credit card so she could order a pizza.

"As an immortal, variety is the spice of life. Anything different than what I've experienced is entertaining to me simply because I haven't done it before, haven't seen it before, or so on. It's why I was so interested when Digimon arrived in our world, because they were new and exciting. They still are, to a degree."

Lelouch's eyebrow raised. "Are you going somewhere with this, witch?" He asked.

Her smirk turned... devious. "If there's one thing I've learned in my life, it's that humans are all a little bit different from one another. But just observing humans gets boring after a while..."

He was beginning to get impatient. At this rate he was going to end up late to first period. He made a hand gesture that was frequently associated with 'get on with it.'

"Lelouch, how would you feel about having sex with me sometime?"

* * *

After blushing and stammering incoherently for a few moments, he finally got some control of himself and walked out of the room after she began laughing at him. Tsumemon, who was still inside of the bag he carried, was also snickering. Despite being a non-humanoid, he knew what sex was. And he knew that Lelouch had just been turned into a stammering mess for a few moments, which was always a hilarious sight. The boy was so used to being in control of a situation that his reaction when you yanked the carpet out from under him was priceless.

This time he had simply flipped the board. "Blasted witch..." He muttered. He knew she was a blatant flirt, he accepted and enjoyed it to a degree. But that was just not something you casually ask.

Well, not something he would just casually ask. And then she had burst out laughing. If that wasn't a blow to his pride, nothing would be. He quickly walked into the kitchen, grabbing two slices of toast Sayoko had left for him, and made his way to first period. He was so going to be late...

But did he care? Not really. He could just bullshit some excuse about important paperwork and get away with it. Wouldn't be the first time, after all.

Nothing in particular was occupying his thoughts at the moment. Cornelia's recent campaign against terrorists had popped up a few times, but he couldn't do much about that. She wasn't making her moves obvious enough for him to safely contact the rebels she was targeting. He had thought of Euphie, too. When did she intend to have her little visit? Lelouch just hoped she remembered to call the old man before actually dropping by.

He shuddered to think of the amount of things that could go wrong if Euphemia visited unannounced. Especially if she had been serious about that kiss.

Lelouch could imagine how well Shirley would react to that. And while Nunally had become far less hyperactive due to the incident, he still knew that she had potential for mischief. Euphemia always had brought out that particular side of Nunally, more often than not due to their arguments on who would eventually wed him.

A cold shiver ran through him as he suddenly wondered if the two of them would begin that particular game anew. When they had been little it was cute for his little sisters to want to marry him, but now... he was pretty sure it wouldn't be quite as cute. More terrifying than anything. Though, with Euphie it wouldn't be too... odd. They only shared their father's blood, after all, and the adults had been considering marrying them to one another from what he heard back when he lived in Britannia.

He had also yet to tell Nunally about the entire situation. That could wait until tonight.

Then there was also Kallen to deal with. She had been eyeing him oddly for the past few days and he was quite sure he didn't like it. Whatever she wanted from him, he would have to be careful in dealing with her. Which would be no fun whatsoever.

Unless it managed to turn out like their last meeting. He could deal with that.

The last few minutes of his walk were occupied by thoughts of a gorgeous red-head straddling him covered by nothing but water. If Lelouch were capable of it, he would be wearing a dopey grin that would be better suited for Rivalz's face. Seeing as how he had more dignity then that, however, Lelouch was restrained to a wide smirk as he finally reached the door.

He quickly wiped the smile off his face, replacing it with a sheepish expression, as the door opened. "Sorry I'm late, there were some important documents I had to look over..."

The moment he walked in, Lelouch noticed the tense atmosphere in the room. Another moment later he found the cause, and he couldn't help the slight intake of air after seeing just who was in his class.

Why the hell was Suzaku at Ashford? Euphie, he realized quickly. Yes, that would be like her.

So with that explained, he was now left with asking whatever being that controlled Fate a single question.

Why the _fuck _was the Knight of Six sitting in his chair, in his classroom, in his school. Looking right at him with recognition lighting up behind her ruby eyes. "Oh no, I can't believe I forgot that!" He heard himself say, turning to leave the classroom. "There's another whole stack of papers to deal with. Sorry sir, but this is important!" It was a good thing he was not only the Vice President of the Student Council, but also a straight A student. Otherwise teachers may not be so willing to believe his bullshitting so easily.

And then where would he be?

Well, probably not hiding in the boys room nearest to the class he had just left, running through every possible scenario he could conjure to figure out why Anya Alstreim was in Ashford Academy, dressed in the middle school uniform for that matter, and even moreso in his class. Had Milly seriously not warned him that she was one of the new students? Surely someone had to have known it, and they would have told either Milly or Reuben. And yet he had been completely blindsided. And why was she a syudent here, if that was the case? Why was she even in Japan?

He sighed, splashing his face with cold water for a few moments. "Could this get any worse?" He muttered.

"Murphy's Law." A small voice replied helpfully. The small voice, however, was not the one he was used to.

Lelouch looked up, and into the mirror to see who was behind him. What he saw gave him a scare.

It was a missile. It's body, rather, was a missile. It's head was a metal rendition of a dragon, and two small hands were linked to the main body by metal cables. The digimon was just floating in the air behind him, lazily almost.

"Shit. You're Anya's digimon, aren't you?" The exiled prince asked, even though he knew already. He had to stall, and possibly find some way to escape.

"Yep. Also, her digivice has a tracker in it to locate me, and in this case you. She'll probably be here any minute." Missimon informed him.

"Any particular reason you decided to follow me?" Lelouch asked.

The digimon seemed to shrug. "You look a lot like someone in one of Anya's pictures. One of her favorite pictures, by the way."

Lelouch frowned thoughtfully. "I think I would remember having a picture taken by the Knight of Six." He noted.

The digimon laughed. "It's funny you mention remembering things. How much do you know of Anya, anyhow?" The information that Anya didn't have the best memory in the world was very public. However, the full extent was kept under wraps. Missimon decided to test how far the public knowledge went.

"Youngest ever to join the Knights of the Round, suffers chronic memory loss, not very emotive. Not much to tell there." He replied, eyeing the door subtly. As of now, he was faced with an In-Training digimon. However, it was one of the fastest In-Training digimon and noted to be quicker than most rookies and some champions. He couldn't make it to the door before the Missimon did, however if he timed it right he could throw the digimon out of the way with the door.

Missimon didn't even move to stop him from bolting for the door, and the digimon would be smiling if his face was capable of that movement. Really, it was hard to express emotions with metal features.

Lelouch didn't stop to wonder why the digimon hadn't moved to stop him, throwing the door open and preparing to make a break for it and come up with a plan.

Any thoughts he had on the matter were stopped as he saw who had been standing in front of the door, just far away enough that it wouldn't slam in her face. Red eyes peered dully into his own violet, and a single word slipped from the lips of the young girl before him.

"Lelouch."

And then the unthinkable happened.

Anya Alstreim smiled.

* * *

A man with turquoise hair was seated in a cell, restrained by a straight jacket and gazing at the floor with a pair of orange eyes. 'I can't believe it. Not two weeks ago I was refusing to believe Bartley's claims of memory loss, and now it's happened to me too. Who the hell is the Zero character?' He continued his pondering, a grimace coming over his features as he remembered just what he was being called these days.

Orange. Orange Boy. The Knight of Orange. Lord of the Oranges. He'd heard all of the petty nicknames and idiotic monikers, spoken in hushed whispers as he passed or yelled in his face directly by those who felt like taking matters into their own hands.

'Did Zero have to choose, uhhhg, _Orange _as the name for that conspiracy theory he started?' Jeremiah would have almost been okay with his situation if it weren't for being associated any deeper with that accursed word. Orange.

He knew how bad it looked that he had noticeably flinched when the word came up, but he couldn't help it. Of all the times for _that word _to come up, it just had to be on national television? Whoever Zero was, Jeremiah was certain that the man had made up a bogus conspiracy and named it Orange just to fuck with him. Pull the carpet out from beneath him, as it were.

It reminded him of the time Prince Lelouch had purchased those orange chess pieces for him to play.

That had been the one day he had wished he could decline to play a game of chess with his Lady's child.

Thoughts of the old days swiftly went downward as he recalled how he had failed his duty twice.

Firstly, he had abandoned his post (Even under orders, he felt it was nothing less than desertion.) and allowed Lady Marianne to be gunned down.

And then he had, rather than begging to accompany the young prince and princess to Japan, simply wallowed in his guilt and allowed them to be taken from their home without a single familiar face.

Even worse, he hadn't been able to locate the bodies. He truly was a failure, despite the vaunted title of Margrave, or the fact that he was designated as Acting Consul should the Viceroy be incapacitated or killed, or that he was the leader of the Purist faction. Despite all that he had become, his failures still haunted him.

After dressing himself down for what had to be the hundred thousandth time after the death of Lady Marianne, Jeremiah's thoughts drifted once more to his current predicament.

Just in time, it would seem, as he had a visitor. He looked up, spotting a bespectacled man with dark hair. Gilbert GP Guilford. The Spearhead of the Empire.

"Sir Guilford, I don't suppose you've finally realized I'm innocent?" He asked.

Judging by the glare he received in response, no, he was not deemed innocent. Go figure.

However, the thoughts of the dark haired knight were more complicated than simply "innocent" or "guilty". 'This man claims to have no memory of the incident. Considering Bartley had the same excuse and it didn't fare well, he knows that it won't save him. And yet he clings to it. Perhaps My Lady was correct.'

He spoke, tone harsh and accusatory. "You still hold on to the pathetic excuse, Gottwald? Hmph. You've been demoted three ranks, it's back to Pilot for you." Guilford smiled cruelly as he offered an alternative. "Or you could go start an Orange farm."

Jeremiah grit his teeth.

If he ever got the chance, Jeremiah was going to punch Zero in the face. And then kill him.

But he was definitely going to punch him in the face.

* * *

'My past seems to be hunting me down left and right these last few days.' Lelouch noted, looking over at the pink haired girl standing beside him on the rooftop. They had relocated their meeting to the roof after Lelouch realized that the bell would ring in a few minutes, a testament to just how late he had been due to his misgivings over getting out of bed.

Had he expected this today, he would have stayed in the clutches of the immortal witch inhabiting his bed.

But that was then and this was now, and now he had a fifteen year old girl who could easily ruin his life to deal with. "So. You've been well, Anya?" He asked, as though he hadn't blatantly attempted to run from the classroom upon seeing her and Suzaku within it.

"As well as I could." She replied lackadaisically. A brief pause "... And you?" Anya asked, almost hesitantly.

Lelouch smiled gently at her. "I'm well."

"What about Nunna?" She inquired.

"She's happy here." He responded, a curious look on his face. "Speaking of here, why are you here?" He wondered.

"Don't know." Came her reply.

Lelouch blanched. "Y-you can't be serious." He said.

"I am."

"You really have no idea as to why you're here? None?" That was unbelievable. She had to be messing with him.

... Oh, right. Anya. So she was serious, then.

"I don't know. Are you not happy to see me?" Despite the monotone, Lelouch could actually detect the slightest trace of hurt in her voice.

He sighed. "It's not that I'm not happy to see you, Anya. But you're the Knight of Six and Nunally and I don't want to go back to the homeland. It's a conflict of interest."

Anya's response was blunt and extremely simple. "Then I won't tell anyone."

Lelouch's eyes widened. "Anya..." He whispered. Didn't she realize that hiding information like this would be treason? If he had ever been found hiding with the Ashfords, they could come up with some excuse as to why they had hidden the siblings. They had the resources to falsify an entire conspiracy theory against the vi Britannia line, which would be adequate reason to hide the two of them.

Anya had no connections or resources of the more clandestine nature, to his knowledge. If she kept his existence secret from Britannia, it was tantamount to treason. He was unsure as to whether or not her title as Knight of Six made her valuable enough that she could avoid a death sentence.

While hiding the existence of two royal siblings may not seem like so harsh a crime, it was a matter of loyalty to be called in question. If Anya didn't report him being alive, what else could she have hidden? She would become a security breach if anyone found out.

It was different with Euphemia. She was an Imperial Princess. Nothing short of openly challenging the Emperor's rule could get her executed formally.

"Lelouch." Anya began, eyes locking with his. "I can't remember things." She said. "Every so often, my memories just disappear. All of them. I wake up not knowing who I am, what I've done. I have to look through my phone just to see if who's life I'm living." She paused, looking away sullenly. "My emotions don't work right, either. They're dulled." Even now, her voice was a dull monotone, proving her point. "I don't understand normal emotions all the time. They're just too unfamiliar to me. I don't get sad. I don't get angry. I can't be happy." Her gaze went to her hand, where her phone was grasped firmly. "This phone has my life on it. It's not an exaggeration. If I woke up without it, I would be lost. How pathetic is that?" Despite the harsh words, the usual lackluster look and dull tone were in her voice. "But, Lelouch, there are three people who I remember. Even when my memories all disappear, these three people always come back to me. And until recently, I had thought all of them were dead."

"Mother, Nunally, and I." Lelouch guessed.

Her lips turned upwards, and for a moment it looked like the world would be graced by another smile from her, before it returned to the usual bored look. "Yes. And when I think of you, my feelings work a little better." She looked indecisive for a moment, before seemingly making her decision about something.

Quickly, she reached forward and wrapped her arms around Lelouch's chest, holding him tightly. "I don't think I've hugged someone since we lived together at the Aries Villa, Lelouch." Anya pointed out.

A warm feeling settled in her stomach as his arms circled around her. "Then it's long overdue, huh?" He joked.

"Yes." She was not joking in the slightest. "I want to see Nunna."

"I'll take you to see her tonight, then. Is that alright?" Asked the exiled prince.

"Yes, that's fine." Anya replied, making no move to release him from her grasp. The two made for an odd sight atop the roof of Ashford.

And what an odd pair they were, a castaway prince and an amnesiac knight.

* * *

Suzaku was having a hard time believing the events of today were real. First, he had been enrolled into Ashford Academy. It was a Britannian private school, and his enrollment was already a major exception to the rules. Secondly, he had found out that another student had been enrolled on that same day, and this one was the Knight of Six, Anya Alstreim. The girl also had a digimon with her, and no one even bothered to question whether or not she could have the creature with her. After all, she was Knight of Six. The Knights of the Round were practically above the law.

So, he was going to school with a high ranking member of the military, who also had a digimon. Not too unbelievable, his was currently napping happily in his knapsack, after all.

But then, yet another bomb was dropped on his head. Lelouch also went to Ashford Academy. Suzaku had slapped himself when he realized this. Of course he went to Ashford Academy, the Ashfords were old family friends of his. Where else would he have been hiding for seven years? He felt like an idiot. That would also explain just why Euphemia had made him go to Ashford, of all places.

And his friend had walked into the classroom, spotted two members of the military, and promptly hauled ass out of there. Smart decision, that, but the pink haired girl had excused herself and sent that Digimon, Missimon as the creature had introduced himself, to follow his oldest friend. And it was fast.

So now he was staring at the clock, and worrying over what was happening to Lelouch.

The last five minutes of class were usually spent socializing among friends, since the teachers usually finished their lessons before the bell. However, Suzaku was all alone in the class. It painted a rather depressing picture for any onlookers.

And it turns out that there was an onlooker. Said onlooker couldn't stand to see the new guy isolated and gloomy, and decided to do something about it. And so, she promptly walked over to his desk and greeted him cheerfully.

"Hello, my name is Shirley Fenette. How are you settling in?" She asked, green eyes twinkling jovially and lips tilted into a dazzling smile.

Suzaku blinked. "Uhm." He muttered, seemingly in shock. "I'm Suzaku Kururugi. I'm settling in fine, thanks." The boy looked around slightly, as though expecting someone to jump out and declare him the victim of some cruel joke. It wouldn't be the first time he had been tricked like that.

Another person walked up, a cheerful exasperation about him that painted him out as a rather laid back fellow. "Geez, Shirley. Give the poor guy some room, he just got here." The blue haired boy extended his hand. "Name's Rivalz Cardemonde. Nice to meet'cha."

However, with Rivalz and Shirley greeting the Honorary Britannian, this left the third member of their group staring indecisively at her two friends and the new student.

Nina's mind was running a mile a minute. She knew Shirley, the girl wouldn't just say hello and then go on with her life as though it hadn't happened. More likely then not, she would attempt to befriend Suzaku and try to get everyone else in the council to do the same. Rivalz figured this out aswell, which was why he had gone over when he did.

This left Nina in a precarious position. Nina did not hate Suzaku Kururugi. She was scared of him. He was an Eleven, in the military, and he had been accused of murdering Prince Clovis. While he had been acquitted of the deed due to Zero's confession, they had still suspected him which meant they had to have some reason to do so.

Or maybe they didn't, she realized after thinking over what Zero had said. Framing Suzaku Kururugi, the son of Japan's late Prime Minister, would launch a whole new wave of anti-Eleven sentiment. And Jeremiah Gottwald was the leader of the Purists, a group founding almost solely on that sentiment. Thinking on it, Nina could see why they had decided to frame Kururugi. It was the perfect move for them to make in the political world.

Of course, it back-fired horrendously after Zero made fools of them. It was scary just how well that incident had gone for the masked terrorist.

Despite her musings and subsequent realization that the boy sitting before her friends was innocent of the crime, she still couldn't get over the other two things that guided her inherent fear of him.

After her mother had been killed simply because she was on a Britannian Military base, Nina had begun to dislike the military. Not to the point where she had lost faith in their effectiveness, she just wasn't fond of them. They hadn't killed her mother, but it was because her mother had dealings with them that she had been on the base during the first strike of the JLF. She didn't want to involve herself in the military lest she suffer the same fate.

And then came the fact that he was an Eleven, like those who had caused the death of her mother. Something her father had never managed to get over.

The day Layla Einstein was killed was the day her family broke apart. Nina's father, Jonathan Einstein, had buried himself deeper into his work to drown his sorrows. This left very little time for his ten year old daughter who had also been grieving the loss of her mother. It had been a selfish and weak decision on the part of her father, rather than staying strong for his only child he had turned into a recluse and left her to fend for herself. Thankfully by that point Nina had learned how to cook, otherwise both she and her father would have starved. The man couldn't cook to save his life, and fast food places were still rare in the settlement due to it's instability and how recently it was established.

Before she could come to a decision on whether or not to greet Suzaku with her friends, the bell rang and it was taken out of her hands.

Not in the way one would expect, however. "Nina, come walk with us!" Shirley called, arm latching around Nina's own and dragging her off to the two boys standing by the door.

"A-ah..." She attempted to remain calm, despite having been forced into meeting the person who compounded all of her phobias. It was working, if only just. She greeted him nervously, eyes locked on the floor. "I'm Nina."

"It's nice to meet you." Said Suzaku, a small smile on his lips.

Well, he certainly didn't seem like a bad sort of person... yet.

Unknowingly, her thoughts mirrored those of the boy before her.

'Maybe this won't be so bad after all.'

* * *

Despite leaps and bounds made in technology over the past seven years, there was still no miracle device to predict the locations of digital fields. Tracking them once they appeared was also largely unneeded, since reports of a fog suddenly rolling in were made the moment it happened. After the first few months of these incidents, the governments of each nation had quickly realized that simply ignoring the threat presented by Digimon would not be sufficient.

So actions were taken to deal with the problem after it made itself apparent. Various anti-digimon task forces were cobbled together, with whatever technology they could come up with to deal with Digimon. Sadly for them, none of their technological advances managed to do much to their digital foes. Even various EMP and other similar tactics had come up dry on many of the monsters.

With this said, it was no surprise that Digital Fields were chalked up as a natural disaster waiting to happen. Each and every Digital Field had the potential to release something more dangerous than any nation's most famous serial killer, or something even worse if they were unlucky.

However, despite the fact that Digital Fields were becoming more and more frequent, they were never large scale.

Lelouch repeated this over and over again in his head, trying to will away the sight before him. It was incomprehensible. It just didn't happen. And yet here he was, watching the unnatural fog spread like wildfire across the entire campus of Ashford. A cold terror gripped him as he recalled a recent incident involving digital fields.

One of the many malls of the settlement had become the site of a massacre as several Vilemon were released within it.

What would happen if a field even larger than that opened up in the middle of Ashford Academy? It looked like they were about to find out.

Needless to say, Lelouch was not looking forward to it.

From the mist, figures began to appear. The sheer number of them was staggering. The mist began to clear ever so slightly from the frantic movements of the figures, revealing more of them to Lelouch and Anya from their rooftop vantage point.

"Hmmm..." Anya hummed, reaching for her digivice. "There are a lot of them." She pointed out, dully.

"Yeah." Lelouch agreed in a daze.

"I think I need to digivolve for this." Missimon noted.

"Uh huh." Anya replied, pressing a button on the digivice. "Digivolution." She intoned.

"Missimon digivolve to..." Commandramon appeared in a flash of light, before he began to digivolve once more. "Commandramon digivolve to..."

And then Sealsdramon stood tall and proud on a rooftop of Ashford Academy, before drawing a pair of combat knives and leaping down into the fog. His landing seemed to be the signal for the fog to recede even more, revealing the monsters hiding within.

There had to be at least fifty Goburimon all flailing about and flinging their clubs into one another. Even worse, was the fact that there were ten Ogremon with them. Before the descent of Sealsdramon, they seemed to just be concerned with one another, bashing and clubbing to their hearts content.

But then they all focused on the new threat, and charged at him like maniacs. Lelouch's eyes went wide as he saw them beginning to attack Sealsdramon at once, slowly wearing down the champion with overwhelming force. And that was just the Goburimon. The Ogremon were sitting back, watching the champion dealing with the hordes of goblin digimon.

Two of the ogres seemed to grin deviously, before rushing towards Sealsdramon with a pair of loud war cries. While the cyborg was fighting valiantly, even having deleted several of the Goburimon, he was now faced with a horde of rookies and two more champions.

The green skinned champions found an opening, slamming their bone clubs into the chest of Sealsdramon as he made to block another club from a pair of Goburimon. The cyborg was sent flying, flipping head over heels before righting himself in mid-air. He rushed forward at such speeds that he seemed invisible, before driving his knife into the back of one Ogremon. It was deleted in an explosion of data, rejuvenating Anya's partner slightly.

Back with Anya and Lelouch, they were looking on nervously. Well, Lelouch was looking on nervously. Anya was simply staring dully as usual, though if one looked closely they could see the slightest downward tilt to her lips as she watched her digimon struggle. "The ADTF won't be able to deal with these." She noted. And she was right. The ADTF (Anti Digimon Task Force) was simply another branch of the military, provided with weapons similar to an anti-terrorist task force. The branch in Area 11 was equipped with three Sutherlands, various other weapons and ordinance for infantry, and knowledge of every digimon that had been reported to breach to date.

Three Sutherlands would have some trouble dealing with a pair of Ogremon, let alone nine and a horde of Goburimon. Sealsdramon, a powerful champion level digimon, was having trouble dealing with the horde of Goburimon himself simply because of their sheer number and his lack of large area attacks. They wouldn't be getting any help here.

Students had gathered at the windows, watching the digimon battling it out in a mixture of shock and fear. Teachers and other staff had been quick to usher students into the buildings, locking them up and praying that none of the Goburimon, or even worse an Ogremon, decided to go on a rampage inside. The damage could be devastating, and the potential for injury even higher.

However, none of the windows had a decent position to see Lelouch and Anya on the roof, which was one of the black haired boy's favorite reasons for hiding out up there.

'Sealsdramon is being beaten back.' He thought frantically. 'Infermon would be able to help, but Anya is still right there... It would be too convenient if I was gone the moment a new digimon appeared.' Lelouch glanced to her again, noticing a flinch as the girl witnessed her digimon taking another brutal shot to the stomach.

Anya Alstreim did not flinch. It was practically the equivalent to bursting into tears for her. Lelouch knew that much. Reading people was one of his specialties. And so he could tell that watching her companion struggle against the enemy like that was tearing her up on the inside.

He sighed, decision made. "Keramon." He announced, drawing the attention of both Anya and his partner. "Go lend Sealsdramon a hand." He unzipped the duffel bag, and immediately a small blue creature leaped out and onto the railing of the rooftop.

"You sure this is a good idea?" Tsumemon asked, though it was a little late to be questioning whether or not revealing him to Anya was wise.

"It's not. Not at all. But I can't just watch as Anya's partner is brutalized. Digivolve to Kurisarimon and lend him a hand."

"Lelouch... you have a digimon?" Anya asked, surprise audible in her voice. She watched as the digimon leaped off the railing and into the fray, becoming a rookie level on his way down.

"Yes, it's another secret of mine I'd like you to keep." He replied.

There was one trick he would keep up his sleeve, of course. After he finished testing Geass, he moved on to testing the capabilities of his digital companion.

So far he had learned that Keramon could not skip Champion level unless the two of them merged to create Infermon, that he could merge with Tsumemon to become a more powerful Keramon, however the green ring in his eyes became violet in this case, and that Keramon could digivolve into Kurisarimon without merging with Lelouch.

"Digivolution." Lelouch announced, holding his digivice before his left eye in a dramatic fashion. He couldn't help it, it just felt right.

Down below them, a flash of violet light announced the arrival of a chrysalis like digimon with six waving tendrils, tipped with golden blades. It seemed to float slightly off the ground, tendrils lashing out with a purple glow and cutting apart several of the Goburimon at one time. The arrival of Kurisarimon had drawn the attention of the Ogremon, and they split up to attack both of their enemies in tandem with the remaining Goburimon.

"Data Crusher!" Kurisarimon shouted, all six tentacles glowing purple as they speared themselves into several Goburimon, deleting them instantly.

Another of the goblins lunged at Kurisarimon while the tentacles were still extended, hoping to land a shot on the digimon. It's club hit it's mark, however...

"Bah! That tickles!" And then six spines pierced the Goburimon at once, before forcefully ripping it apart and deleting it.

The next attacker was one of the eight remaining Ogremon, another having been killed moments earlier by Sealsdramon. Kurisarimon blocked the incoming club with one of the bladed ends of his tentacles, aiming to stab Ogremon with the remaining five. However, the green skinned champion leaped back in time to avoid the seeking blades, slamming his club down on one and bending it slightly through the force.

"OW! MOTHERFUCKER!" Kurisarimon yelped, retracting the damaged blade quickly and holding it close to his shell. It had basically felt like having your finger smashed between a hammer and an anvil. Except this hammer was being wielded by a giant green bipedal with more muscle than mind. "I'm gonna fucking kill you! Snipe Sting!"

The spine at the base of the chrysalis glowed briefly, before firing at the Ogremon at high speed. Ogremon, having been caught by surprise, was unable to block the shot and took a hit in it's throat. It pierced through, leaving a gaping hole in the chest of the creature. From the hole, particles began flying off as it disintegrated from the inside out.

With the arrival of a second champion, Sealsdramon had been able to wreak havoc on his newly distracted foes. The cyborg digimon was not an army killer, subterfuge and misdirection were more his forte. However this new one was heavily armored, caused large amounts of chaos in the area surrounding it, and had a very abrasive personality. It was perfect for taking attention off of him, which allowed him a great deal of freedom to deal with his foes.

The champion felt it was wise to remove the Goburimon from the equation before they decided to run off or attack the civilians.

And so while Kurisarimon was busy handling seven Ogremon, Sealsdramon was slaughtering the Goburimon. He felt sort of bad about leaving the other champion to deal with seven green skinned brawlers, but civilian safety came first.

Sealsdramon hesitated for a moment, after seeing Kurisarimon take a brutal club strike that sent him flying, before performing a hasty scan of the battlefield and spotting no more hostile Rookie levels.

His primary goal was complete, freeing him up to finally help his apparent ally out of the situation they both found themselves aught in. The cyborg digimon appeared behind one Ogremon like a ghost, combat knife shoved deep into the back of it's head. The Ogremon was destroyed in an explosion of data, which Sealsdramon absorbed quickly.

Had Sealsdramon not been in such a hurry to save his new found ally, he may have spotted the two Goburimon who had escaped the battle.

* * *

Rivalz had never cared much for his gym class. They never did anything but run, or occasionally play dodgeball. Not much else. So he would have to change, get sweaty after running around the gym for an hour, and then change back into his Ashford uniform and continue his day after having run around the gym for an hour.

Was it really any surprise that he decided to skip gym? Lelouch had the right idea there.

This is why we find Rivalz Cardemonde in the boys dormitory, in his room, and on his bed. He was fiddling with a small blue card, tilting it under the lights as though doing so would reveal some mysterious secret to him.

The blue haired boy sighed, memories of his family drifting before his eyes. But that was before his dad had been killed in some sort of lab accident. After that, his family been strained. His mother had estranged herself from the rest of his family, leaving only Rivalz and his grandparents to take care of him. Luckily, they were still well off in the monetary department. Which was why Rivalz had been enrolled into the top private school in Area Eleven, had his ol' reliable motorcycle, and was living a decent life. Hell, he even had a job as a bartender at a great restaurant. So that was nice.

But the old wounds had never quite healed. Losing his father had been bad enough, but for his mother to just up and leave not even a month later? It hurt. Was he really so unimportant to the woman that she would leave?

Apparently so.

It was depressing, especially since there was a time when they had all gone to the park, or an icecream parlor, or the mall, or anywhere. And they had been so happy. His father always had that large grin on his face, the kind of grin that made it hard to believe he was a scientist. His mother had smiled in a much smaller, gentler way. She had always been there for him, even when his father had been off on business.

He never could understand why she would leave when he needed the love of his mother most. But she had. Rivalz didn't have it in him to be angry with her, even if he would be justified. No, rather than anger, he simply felt bitter.

Nothing to be done about it, though. He didn't even know where his mother was right now.

Rivalz sighed and placed the card back into his pocket. "Dad, Mom, I miss you." He whispered.

Even if they had left him, Rivalz still had his closest friends to turn to. More often then not it was Lelouch who he vented to about his troubles, the violet eyed teen always listened to him. Rivalz had always hoped that one day Lelouch would come to him one day and talk about what had him down, just so he would feel a bit less like a whiner.

But Lelouch never had. It wasn't that the boy didn't have problems to talk about, it was that he kept to himself on everything. Rivalz had never pried into his life and he never would, unless he saw no other choice but to let Lelouch ruin himself in grief. On those days where Lelouch woke up and could do little more than glower and growl at those who were around him, Rivalz had always just let him know he would listen if his best bud had anything to say. The brief flicker of gratitude he would spot in those violet eyes always assured him that the gesture was appreciated.

Without a doubt, Lelouch was the person Rivalz trusted more than anyone else.

His contemplating was interrupted by a loud crash, prompting the teen to poke his head into the hallway to see what had caused the racket. He blinked disbelievingly upon spotting the culprit.

"What the hell is a Goburimon doing here?" Rivalz exclaimed, drawing the rampaging monster's attention. "Uh oh, shit!" The teen yelped, taking off down the hallway in an effort to escape the violent creature.

However, the Goburimon was fast despite it's stocky build and short legs. It soon got close enough to the fleeing teenager to lob something at him. Luckily for the digimon, he had retrieved a painting from the walls some time back and had no qualms with sending it crashing painfully into the back of his prey.

"Ahh!" Rivalz shouted, feeling the wood of the picture frame crash into his back, just between his shoulder blades. It send him to the ground in a heap, groaning piteously. He looked up to see the green skinned rookie skulking up to him triumphantly. The digimon looked smug, even as he slowly raised the club that had been drug along the floor behind him.

The teen sighed, in no position or condition to move. This was it. He teared up. "Damn it! I don't want to die here to some stupid Goburimon! Why the hell does this have to happen to me?" He was set up to lead a happy, quaint life. Educated at the best school, already working part-time at a classy restaurant as a bartender, surrounded by great friends. Rivalz was going to make something of himself!

Goburimon was only interested in making a puddle of crushed bone and blood out of the teenager before him.

It sickened Rivalz. This thing had nothing on it's mind but to destroy everything it could, alive or not. It had been traipsing about the boys dormitory and would never have noticed him had Rivalz not looked to see what caused the commotion in the hallway. Just a few moments ago, he had been safe and sound, lying on his bed and thinking once more on the card that had apparently been sent posthumously by his father.

The heavy club fell with the force of a wrecking ball, seeking to splatter Rivalz across the hallway.

If this was unstoppable force, Rivalz could really use an immovable object right now. Even if it didn't save him, at least he would have the answer to an age old question before he died.

Rivalz didn't have an immovable object. But Goburimon's club was hardly an unstoppable force, as proven when the card shot out of the teen's uniform and took the hit, not budging an inch under the pressure the goblin exerted.

Before the very wide eyes of Rivalz, the card seemed to split apart. It formed two orbs of light, one about the size of Rivalz torso, and the other being small enough to fit in his hand.

The small light shot out and settled in his left hand, while the other light took on a shape. It became clearer as the light receded, revealing two appendages holding the club in place. They were strong looking limbs tipped with a large spike each, and led to the body of the new being. Beneath these larger limbs, a pair of smaller, more human like, arms rested.

A shell on it's back had split down the center to allow the insectoid wings to buzz frantically, in order to hold the new digimon aloft. Two large, neon green, compound eyes stared ahead at the Goburimon fearlessly.

"Super Shocker." It's voice droned out, even as electricity gathered near it's wings. Without another sound or motion, the electric discharge slammed forcefully into the face of the enemy digimon, sending it careening backwards with a frantic shout of pain.

From all the evidence provided, this new digimon seemed to be a Tentomon. But there was one thing wrong with that observation.

Since when did Tentomon have a dark blue carapace? "Are you alright?" The digimon asked, with it's eyes stilled locked on the cautious Goburimon.

Rivalz nodded slowly, trying to find his voice. "Y-yeah." He managed, still staring in shock. "You saved me."

"Good." Tentomon replied. "I will protect you with my life."

* * *

The sound of steady typing is the only thing one would hear if they were to enter the computer lab at the moment. Nina sighed contentedly, enjoying the peaceful quiet broken up by her fingers tapping at the keys of the computer.

She wasn't working on her main project at the moment. Right now, Nina was writing an essay for her history class. The assignment had been to choose a moment in time when the world had changed greatly based on a single decision or event.

Nina had chosen the first Bio-Emergence, which had introduced Digimon to the world as a whole.

No one knew the entire story of what happened, but everyone knew the outcome. Like a natural disaster, news of the event spread around the world quickly.

Digimon's first appearance on Earth was in Japan. And it was not a quiet event. Suddenly, out of thin air, an enormous green avian monster appeared in the middle of the road. The creature had been half the size of the nearby buildings, strong enough to destroy them with only a swipe of it's claws, and had some sort of power over electricity.

It had seemed like the green digimon would simply go on a rampage, since no one had any chance to react to it's sudden presence. And really, how were the Japanese going to respond to something straight out of one of their popular monster movies appearing in the middle of Nerima?

Luckily, or perhaps unluckily depending on how you saw it, the decision was taken out of their hands.

Speculation began at this point, but it was based off of key facts.

Firstly, another digimon appeared. It was as large as the first, reptilian, and orange with blue stripes. It looked much like a dinosaur, appearing hunched much like a raptor.

Secondly, the two digimon battled one another. It was a fierce battle, and the conclusion of it seemingly destroyed both of the digimon.

These two facts were the only solid things for speculation to be based on. Some believed that the Greymon, as they now called the reptile digimon, had been the first digimon to arrive in the Human World. They went further to say that it had bonded with a human, and digivolved to Greymon in defense of that human in order to defeat the rampaging Parrotmon.

Others suggested that they had been battling in the Digital World, and one simply stumbled into the human world slightly before the other. Once both arrived, their feud continued.

Long before the reports of Digimon became common, Japan had blown the attack off as a terrorist attack. And, certainly, the Hikarigaoka area attested to that. The entire place was in shambles. It was only after more reports of similar events began arising that Japan had released the truth of what happened that night.

Nations began working to defend themselves from the threat caused by the digital world and it's inhabitants. One nation, however, did something more than attempt to protect itself.

Britannia saw potential in Digimon. And so they sought to gain the power of Digital Monsters for their own.

It only took them two years, a testament to the genius of Britannian scientists, to create a device. Digivices, they called them, had the ability to restrain the artificial intelligence within the Digimon, bending their will to that of their Tamer. Complete and utter dominance of even the most dangerous digimon could be established.

And Britannia made use of it's weapons and their versatility, and their power.

Much like they had with the Knightmare frame, the EU and China quickly attempted to recreate the Digivice. While China had nothing solid that was publicly known, aside from a fully willing combatant with the ability to reach Mega level, the EU had created a digivice that worked just as well as that of Britannia's had when it was first introduced.

However, by the time the EU had made the rudimentary digivices, Britannia's had been changed and outfitted in many different ways. They had been far superior.

Nina frowned, noticing that she had gotten far off topic on her report. She deleted the most irrelevant information, quickly skimming through the assignment once more. She nodded slightly, satisfied with the essay for the moment. It would be finished later, but for now she was going to relax and enjoy the rest of her free period.

Genius that she was, Nina had already completed the courses for several classes during her Freshman and Sophmore years. This year, as a Junior, she began to see the results of that hard work paying off in the form of free periods. And more free time now meant that she could continue to work on her projects, or do other things.

Right now was definitely among the category of "Other things". Her mind was drifting back to more personal matters.

What she was facing now was a very simple question; did other girls arouse her?

Embarrassing though it may be for her, Nina was starting to notice how attractive her classmates were. She had always known they were pretty, and she had secretly been jealous of them for it for a while, but she had never thought too deeply on it.

But in the last few months, she had started to really _look _at them. Shirley and Milly, to be specific. And then there was the dream she had last night.

It had been a normal enough dream to start out with. Just another one of Madame President's events, and like usual she had been... not so much left out, as not pulled in. She wasn't much for planning events and such, nor was she the most fit person around. Still probably better off than Lelouch, a devious voice whispered in her mind. And from what they had seen of Lelouch, he really was not meant for anything physical. So the girl had been exempt from Milly's various schemes and plots for the events.

This time had been different. While the event, some festival or something that played no major part in the dream, had gone on outside, Nina was simply looking over something on the computer as usual.

And then Milly had sauntered into the council room, lying her chin atop Nina's head as arms snaked their way around her collar.

Without going too deeply into detail, the situation had degenerated from that into Nina half-heartedly protesting as Milly stripped her, ran her soft hands across her skin, and eventually began to take it even further...

As soon as she had thought the situation couldn't have gotten any more embarrassing for her, it had done so in a very unexpected way.

Lelouch had walked into the room, holding a clipboard and with a pencil held behind his ear as usual. His eyes had at first been hidden by the clipboard, it lowered slowly and his eyes went comically wide.

He had simply stared, face lighting up in a brilliant display of red, before Milly asked the question that had shocked Nina to the point she woke up.

"Say, Lelouch, wanna join?"

Those four words had snapped Nina out of her slumber quicker than an earthquake or a fire alarm ever could.

What was worse was that she had to change her sheets immediately.

"Oooooh!" Nina groaned, holding her head between her hands. This was so confusing! She could deal with being attracted to women, there was nothing wrong with that. But fantasizing about two of her closest friends, at the same time? That was a bit too much for her. Nina still had to look those two in the eye, and it was going to be much harder now that she had actually _thought _about them in a lewd manner.

And then there was Shirley and Rivalz. One of them was attracted to Lelouch, and the other to Milly. If Nina actually acted on her feelings for either of the two floating around her head, whatever they may be, she would put strain on the friendship of the few people she could even call friends.

Nina didn't even know if Milly was actually bisexual. People assumed she was, but the girl had never actually confirmed or denied it. So there was still a chance that, even if Nina did act on these sudden feelings and said something to Milly, the blonde would just reject her, possibly putting strain on their own friendship. That was simply out of the question. She would not destroy her relationship with her closest friend over some feelings she couldn't even rightly identify. It had been one dream, after all. Everyone had wet dreams, maybe Milly being featured in hers was simply a coincidence.

Sufficiently pleased with her conclusion on that problem, Nina turned to the other facet of that dream.

Namely, Lelouch.

While the dream had cut off before the boy had joined in, the fact that he arrived in the first place was jarring enough to make Nina actually stop and think on her feelings about the black haired youth. If that hadn't been enough, the passing thought that came next most certainly was.

Because Nina had actually wanted the dream to go on.

While she had never pursued relationships, either not having time or not being in a proper state of mind for one, Nina had given some thought to the topic. She was a thinker, and the matter had come up once or twice. Which had led to a few conclusions about what she desired in a partner.

First and foremost would be their personality. She didn't want to be involved with some types of people in the slightest, and other types of people she greatly enjoyed being around.

Looks also came into the equation, because, let's face it, it really did matter. While beauty on the inside was a wonderful concept, most people cared about how their potential lovers looked. It was just a fact of life.

And then came intellect. If Nina couldn't hold a conversation with her potential partner, then they were not a potential partner at all. She didn't care if they were smarter than her or not, just so long as she could actually talk to them about her various projects and research and not get a blank stare.

Of course this meant Rivalz was out. He was a good friend, but Nina had tried to explain the very basics of the basics of one of her simpler theories to him and received a slack jawed and wide eyed look that left her realizing that Rivalz was simply not a man of science. He wasn't stupid, of course, but he wasn't exactly smart. He was a doer, not a thinker.

And while Nina would admit Rivalz was attractive, he wasn't her type.

But what was her type? What did Nina Einstein find attractive in a boy? Or a girl, for that matter?

She decided to start with what she would want in a girl, because it was a bigger mystery to her at the moment.

After a brief musing, Nina had concluded that Milly's being in the dream had probably been more due to the girl being Nina's oldest friend. Simply because of all the qualities and things that Nina liked about various girls she had seen on campus. Or in the locker rooms. Or the bath...

The bespectacled girl shook her head quickly, ridding herself of such thoughts. Put simply, Nina had come to terms with the fact that she found other women attractive and wouldn't mind having a relationship with them. However, no particular girl stood out to her aside from Milly, who did because she had known her longest, and Shirley, who she had the most contact with aside from Milly.

With that decided, Nina then moved on to boys. What features did she find attractive for men?

It was mostly the same, Nina noted. A good personality, smart, and decent looking.

Looking through a sort of mental list, candidate after candidate was crossed off after careful consideration of just what Nina liked or did not like about them.

In the end, she was left with one name on that mental list, and the result made her groan again.

Brilliant, she had a crush on the vice president.

The teen didn't have time to bemoan her bad luck, before another stroke of it came crashing down. Along with the door to the computer lab.

She shrieked in terror, partially because of the fact that a metal rimmed wooden door had just been broken off of it's slider and sent into the room, and partly because of what stood behind the door.

It was a grinning monstrosity known as a Goburimon, one of the more frequent bio-emergent digimon.

Why was it here? Why hadn't an alarm rang? Well, the school didn't have a "Digimon Drill" or any associated procedures, so if there was one then she supposed people may be too panicked to have put any consideration into what to do.

But it was only one digimon (or so she thought), so shouldn't they have just done what they normally do for their lockdown drills? Or even evacuated the school? At the very least she should have had some warning of the rampaging beast before her.

Unfortunately, Nina was very much trapped at the moment. The only door was blocked by Goburimon, and they were on the third floor. The windows weren't an option for the girl either.

Apparently, the digimon realized this too. It began cackling cruelly, slowly walking towards her with it's club drawn back. In a display of strength, the Goburimon slammed it's club into a computer faster than Nina could blink. The machine was demolished, shattering into pieces. The message was clear. Don't try to run past unless you want to die sooner.

Much like many victims of sudden assault, Nina couldn't believe just how quickly the situation had changed. Mere moments ago she had been pondering over whether or not she was bisexual. Now she was staring at what promised to be her executioner. How had things changed so quickly?

Realization set in and tears began to fall freely from the girl's face as she backed as far as she could into a corner of the room, falling to her knees. Was this how it was going to end? Killed here by some crazed lunatic of a goblin, just because she had been in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Just like her mother. She was going to die as a victim of circumstance just as her mother had so many years before. Fate's sense of humor was cruel.

'I don't want to die. I don't want to leave my friends.' And Nina felt anger in the pit of her stomach, boiling up into her chest. Anger at the people who took her mother, anger at the monster in front of her for trying to kill her, and anger at herself for being unable to do anything. And so she yelled at the monster, the only thing nearby to vent her emotions on.

"You! You're just some mindless beast coming into our world to destroy things! Why!? What purpose does it serve? Do you even have a reason!?" She screamed, actually halting the creature for a moment. "You burst in here now you're trying to kill me! What did I ever do to you!? WHY IS THIS HAPPENING!?" Nina hated being angry. Anger made people do stupid things, such as provoking their attackers by yelling at them. And Nina hated anger in general. It rarely brought any good to anyone, and in the rare occasions it did it was tempered by some other emotion. Pure anger helped no one.

Goburimon was currently an embodiment of anger. It was all the creature knew at the moment. Before his trip to the human world, Goburimon had been fighting in a savage battle with another clan of Goburimon and their own Ogremon leaders. He fought them with purpose, to dominate them and expand the territory of his clan. Perhaps not the noblest purpose, and even then he had been sadistically cruel and violent, but still. He once had purpose.

Now he was simply furious. Everything had to die. Everything must be destroyed. He wasn't seeing red, he was hardly seeing at all. Right now, Goburimon did not have a purpose. He was an engine of destruction. It was an unsightly existence.

But even so, Goburimon did not care. Even his former self wouldn't have minded killing this human, after all humans were nothing to his kind, but now he just wanted to destroy.

The club was lifted into the air, and Nina's bout of anger had subsided enough for depression to take back over. "Goodbye." She whispered, hands clenched before her and tears streaming down her cheeks. This was the end for her, it seemed.

But things are not always as they seem.

The club was halted by the sudden appearance of a ball of light, which split and began taking form. A small sphere of the light inserted itself between Nina's clasped hands, as the other fell to the ground as a caterpillar of some sort.

It was a green creature with lightning patterns running up it's body and a purple beak, with serrated edges that fit together like pieces of a puzzle. It had no eyes, and yet... the two lightning bolt marks on it's head seemed to be glaring at the Goburimon, somehow. It's beak opened wide, and a purple miasma burst forth from it.

"Poison Powder!" The little caterpillar shouted, bathing the Goburimon in a poisonous substance that began to burn at it's skin painfully, also messing with it's sense of balance.

"W-what are you..?" Nina asked, puffy red eyes staring at her savior.

"Dokunemon. Don't worry, I won't let him hurt you."

* * *

And that's a chap.

I'm a bad person for leaving it off here, but it's either this or go on for a bit, and... well, frankly I don't want to. I like this as the ending, though I'm sure the readers won't be too happy for it.

Bah. Not too much to say here.

Hm... so, lemme ask you all a question. Say I give Mao a Digimon. What do you think would fit him? I have an idea, but I wanna hear what you all have to say. So, review pl0x.

They make me happy.


	5. Chapter 5

Hello once again readers! Have you missed me? Because I certainly haven't. Seriously, my aim with this nerf gun is freakin' impeccable. How many dudes can hit themselves in the face with a gun pointing the right direction, eh?

What? You don't believe me?

Good! You're smarter than most of my friends.

At any rate, time for the disclaimer! Lelouch, if you please?

Lelouch: And just why do I have to do your job, again?

Demon: Because I'm incompetent, duh.

Lelouch:*Blinks* Well I wasn't going to say it aloud. Anyway, Demon of Zero doesn't own Code Geass no matter how much he wants it.

Demon: And believe me I do. Just think of all the wonderful things I could accomplish!

Lelouch:*Shudders* I don't even want to think about that.

Milly: I do!

Lelouch: What is SHE doing here!? And why is she in her cat outfit?

Milly and Demon:*Shrug* Fanservice?

Lelouch: Even you wouldn't just bring in a random catgirl for no reason, Demon. Seriously, what's the occasion?

Demon: Er... well, see, I got a kitten recently (blame any spelling mistakes on the kitten by the way :D) and when I told C.C. about it...

Lelouch: Ah... mrggrhehhrrh!*A hand covers Lelouch's mouth with a rag, and he falls unconscious.*

C.C.: He did say I'd get you back.

Demon:*Shivers* On with the story!

* * *

Ashford Academy was a chaotic place to be on most days. Between the ridiculous events planned by the Student Council President and the extremely large variety of clubs, hilarity and hijinks were commonplace. A normal day could consist of anything from the Equestrian Club riding about the campus on horseback to the rugby team playing in the middle of the school to the Council attempting to make the world's largest pizza for the umpteenth time. In short, a normal day at Ashford was far from normal by the standards of most people.

However, today was not a normal day of chaos on the campus of Ashford Academy. Today, the chaos was notably less innocent and much more harmful.

The how and the why were unimportant. All that mattered was the who.

Digimon. A small army of green skinned digital monsters had suddenly appeared on campus with nothing but violence on their minds, whatever may be left of them that is. They had started off simple, just bashing eachother around and ignoring their surroundings for the time being. However, it was only a matter of time before they broke off from their mindless combat and turned their attention to the school full of defenseless humans just ripe for the smashing.

The students and teachers had all migrated to the windows to get a better view of the situation, and many of the more level headed were clamoring to have the academy evacuated. However, the chances of a mass evacuation drawing the attention of the horde was too high for them to risk it. It was safer simply to stay indoors and hope for the best. Even setting off an alarm could draw the attention of the creatures towards the building.

It had seemed bleak, until a spark of hope was ignited. Anya Alstreim had released her own Digimon to combat the invaders.

The Knights of the Round were celebrities, and thus their Digimon were just as well known as they were. Who cared if one Knight had a tricked out Gloucester, or a prototype KMF that hadn't been released to the public yet? Digimon were more unique and interesting than Knightmare frames. They were living, breathing creatures with their own sentience. Or, rather, some of them were. Those who were kept by knights like Luciano Bradley were robbed of their free will and personalities, made into nothing more than weapons.

So when the students and teachers saw the form of Sealsdramon entering the battle, relief bloomed in their chests. Surely a Knight of the Round would be able to defeat even these odds? Rounds were known for their power and skill, each one was worth a small army. So, surely, the situation was well under control and there was nothing to worry about.

But then worry blossomed once more, as Sealsdramon seemed to get overwhelmed. How could this be? Weren't the Knights supposed to be strong enough to handle these things?

Those who knew more about Digimon as a whole and not just in passing from their research on the Knights of the Round knew from the start that a single champion, no matter how powerful, would be outmatched by dozens of rookies plus ten other champions.

Despite the ferocious fight put up by Sealsdramon, it was obvious that he alone would not be enough to defeat these brutes.

This left one Suzaku Kururugi staring out at the battle with his teeth grit. "I can't just sit here and watch this..." He muttered, fists clenching together tightly. "I need to help."

A pat on his back distracted him for a moment. Shirley, the girl he had met only a period ago, was just staring at him sadly. "We all feel helpless watching this, but there's nothing we can do. None of use can fight these things." Simply looking at her, one could tell her worry. Suzaku knew just why she was so nervous.

Two of her friends, Rivalz and Nina, were not in any class at the moment. Rivalz always skipped gym, and all his friends knew it. Nina had free periods and all her friends knew it. Suzaku had been informed of both of these things by Shirley, who was terrified because she had no idea where they were at the moment. Unknown to Suzaku, she was also concerned over the location of Lelouch, who had been missing since last period when he had ran out of class. Suzaku was less worried since Anya had followed after Lelouch, so he should be safe.

Suzaku grit his teeth harder, making a decision. He couldn't sit by idly and allow this to go on! He had the means to help and he was going to do it!

His knapsack seemed to heat up in response to his feelings, something only he and Shirley picked up on. "I'm going to help." He decided aloud, shocking the orangette.

"W-what! There's nothing you can do to those things!" She shouted, green eyes wide. Her shout drew the attention of all her classmates, and the teacher. But could anyone really blame her? Her new friend had just announced that he was going to go out and fight the digimon attacking, and defeating, one of the Knights of the Round. What did he expect to do, go out and fight them with his bare hands? "They'll kill you!"

Suzaku sighed. "I had wanted to keep you a secret a bit longer, Coronamon. There goes that idea, huh?" A guilty smile found it's way to his lips. "I can't keep secrets very well, it seems."

The ties atop the knapsack loosened as something burst out, a flash of light accompanying it. "Thou hath the most terrible luck, Suzaku." Coronamon noted, standing proudly atop Suzaku's desk with his arms crossed. "Shall we be off?"

"Yeah, let's go."

And with that, Suzaku Kururugi opened a window and leaped out.

From the second story.

Coronamon followed him with a laugh and a cry of "TALLY-HO!"

A student raised his hand, hesitantly. Despite the oddness of the situation, the teacher called on him. "What the fuck just happened?" The student asked in confusion.

Rather than scolding the student for his language, the teacher replied in kind. "I have no fucking idea!" He shouted, throwing his hands in the air in exasperation.

He was one of the student's favorites.

Shirley had remained quiet after her initial outburst had drawn attention to Suzaku, though not for the reasons one may expect. Unlike every other student in the class, who had been staring at Suzaku, Shirley had seen something even more shocking than an Honorary Brittanian with a digimon.

Yet another digital monster had dropped from the rooftop, transforming from a jellyfish into a giant chrysalis during it's fall. And it had begun fighting the green hordes alongside the metal dragon.

Just what in the world was going on today?

* * *

Despite his rather hasty exit of the class, Suzaku was stopped dead in his tracks by the arrival of the blue chrysalis. He mostly ignored the sudden landing of Coronamon, despite the prideful creature landing on his shoulders, in favor of gaping at the second Digimon to enter the battle.

Coronamon had also stopped to stare at the creature, his eyes wide in shock. "Kurisarimon? A rare sight indeed! The Empire had driven off many an attacking Infermon, I had thought the species long since extinct!"

In reality, the empire HAD driven off the Infermon. It was just that they had driven them from their own land. Apollomon had joined the empire not too long after this had occurred. He had only seen the swarms of Infermon attacking what had, to him, been Empire territory. The original invasion of the Infermon's land had been to hunt them to extinction.

Because of the whispers of an Armageddemon among them. A digimon capable of fighting toe to toe with the Demon Lord Digimon, the Sovereign, and potentially the Celestial Lord himself.

Of course, the rumored digimon was just that. A rumor. Armageddemon had not been present during the attack on the Infermon's lands, and because of this they were quickly wiped out by the overwhelming force the Empire had brought to bear against them. Any attacks on the newly claimed Empire territory in vengeance were put down swiftly. Numerous Keramon, Kurisarimon, Tsumemon, and Kuramon were put down in the ensuing conflict alongside the Infermon and Diaboramon who made up their main fighting force. Since then, there had been not a single trace of a Diaboramon in the digital world.

The last time an Infermon had been spotted by the Empire was over a hundred years ago, when a lone Infermon had assaulted the territory.

Unlike those before it, this Infermon had come remarkably close to defeating the defending Magna Angemon squad. A single Infermon had demolished five of the Ultimate level Angel digimon before it was finally put down.

Apollomon himself had been the one to put it down, having rushed to the area after hearing of a powerful opponent assaulting it alone. Unfortunately for him, his foe had been tired out by the defenders and was far too weakened to provide even a meager challenge. It had been with a tangible disappointment that Apollomon had deleted the Infermon.

He had even, briefly, considering allowing the digimon to live and escape so it could grow stronger and give him a challenge. But his loyalty to the Empire had won out in the end.

"Perhaps this time..." He shivered in excitement. This Kurisarimon seemed to be linked to a human, since it had allied itself with the Knight's digital partner. Could this one eventually grow to match that Infermon so long ago? Perhaps even becoming a Diaboramon? The thought kindled a fire within him. Even so...

It didn't matter at the moment. "I shall lend them my aid, Suzaku." Coronamon announced, leaping off of his partner's shoulder and high into the air.

Coronamon was infinitely glad that he could still reach Champion level with ease. If his power level had dropped so much that he couldn't retake even his Champion form then he may have gotten himself deleted out of principle.

An explosion of fire later, Firamon roared triumphantly at the horde of brutes before him. "Thou shalt feel the wrath of my flames!" The lion shouted, launching a Fira Bomb at the remaining Ogremon.

* * *

Kurisarimon was rather pissed. He was having a moderately pleasant day, despite Lelouch running like a madman and jostling him around during his nap, and now these green skinned mooks were ruining it. "Six ugly ogres on the field, six ugly ogres!" He sang, sending another Snipe Sting at one. It was batted away by the club, however this left it's guard open and Kurisarimon's golden spike soon pierced through it's chest in a ferocious display of speed and power. "Take one down!" The digimon continued with a maniacal cackle, before yanking the dispersing Ogre with his tendril and slamming it into another. "Toss it around!" The Ogremon impaled on his spike disappeared in a burst of data. "Only five ugly ass ogres left now!" Kurisarimon punctuated the end of his manic tirade with a loud, maniacal laugh.

Sealsdramon actually looked over at his newfound ally with a disturbed stare. "You're not stable, are you?" He asked rhetorically, fending off an Ogremon's club while simultaneously driving another knife into it's gut, sending the champion level digimon back while it clutched at the new wound on it's stomach.

"Thou shalt feel the wrath of my flames! FIRA BOMB!" And with that, a large fireball impacted the center of the Ogremon's loose "formation", sending them into a disorientated stumble in random directions. One had been deleted on the spot, the one who had been injured by Sealsdramon a few moments before.

Kurisarimon nearly choked. "The hell is HE doing here!?" He shouted at the top of his lungs. He was past shocked at this point, now he was around the level of flabbergasted. How did he and Lelouch constantly draw this kind of thing to themselves? Back in the Digital World his luck with random encounters had been terrible, and now he was finding that his partner had the same kind of atrocious luck in that subject.

Were things like that able to add to one another? Dear God he hoped not, otherwise they'd have Seraphimon breathing down their necks at this rate.

Sealsdramon turned to regard him, using the distraction provided by the newcomer as an opportunity to do so. "You've met him?"

"Met him? I had to fight him!" Kurisarimon quickly shut up, realizing he may have let something vital slip. Thankfully, Firamon was out of earshot of the hushed conversation. "Either way, there are only four left and three of us. Odds are far in our favor at this point. Your partner knows who I'm with, but no one else needs to. I'm pulling out now."

Sealsdramon seemed skeptical. "How do you intend to fall back at the moment? If you don't want to be seen, that is."

If Kurisarimon could smirk, he would have. "Easily."

And then he shot his tendrils into the ground like slash harkens, retracted them quickly, and launched himself into the middle of the Ogremon who had just regrouped. His arrival threw up massive amounts of dust, left a crater in the ground, and once again disorientated the Ogremon who had just righted themselves from the last attack.

In the ensuing confusion, no one noticed a small blue hand skittering into the foliage, or into a nearby grate that would lead to Ashford's underground tunnels/drainage system.

Lelouch wasn't the only clever one out of them.

* * *

Speaking of Lelouch, he was currently looking down at the battlefield with a furrowed brow. Unlike his digital partner, Lelouch had spotted the human figure leaping from the second story window.

Suzaku had apparently partnered up with the Firamon they had battled briefly. This was not good.

Cornelia had a digimon, an Agumon. Rather than the typical digivolution line followed by Agumon, this one became a Geo Greymon. It had yet to reach ultimate level, but information on Rize Greymon had been given to the press from the mouth of the digimon himself. In short, he didn't want to deal with a leaner and faster version of Metal Greymon at any point in time. Dealing with a faster Greymon would be annoying enough.

In addition to that, he had learned of Anya's arrival. That was a monkey wrench in his plans if one ever existed. Now he would have to take her into account along with Cornelia.

And even worse? Now it seemed _Suzaku _had made friends with a digimon who was clearly powerful, in addition to his status as the pilot of that ridiculously powerful Knightmare that had gone toe to toe with him as a champion-strength ultimate.

That was a total of four major threats that had to be taken into account for any of his plans from now on. The odds had been slightly even when it was just Cornelia and him with Digimon, but now that she had two more on her side...

Needless to say, Lelouch had a hard road ahead of him if he wanted to free Japan and topple Britannia.

But he would not be swayed by something as simple as this. No, Lelouch vi Britannia was not going to be cowed into submission now that he had finally begun to work against the nation he despised. Nothing would stop him from reaching his goal and creating a gentler world for his sister and those like her.

Lelouch sighed, drawing Anya's attention. "Something wrong?" The girl asked, turning to glance at him now that the battle had practically ended.

"I'm just relieved that Kurisarimon could disengage from the fight without being too apparent. I don't want him to be traced back to me." He replied, lightly pinching the bridge of his nose. "Too much attention on me could get us discovered by Britannia and that is the last thing I want happening."

"... I shouldn't go see Nunna tonight, then, should I? The police will be launching an investigation..." Not like it'd do them much good, but protocol was protocol. Her being a Knight of the Round basically meant that the entire investigation would revolve around her, since she was the only Britannian soldier on record who had access to a Digimon.

Though from the looks of it, that would change soon. Suzaku Kururugi apparently befriended a digimon. "I've never seen a digimon like that before." She noted, offhandedly.

"It's called Firamon, and it's a part of the Apollomon line. Apollomon itself is a Mega Level and part of the 13 Olympian digimon." Lelouch offered. Seeing her questioning gaze, he elaborated on his knowledge. "Keramon told me this. Seems he was well informed during his stay in the Digital World." Lelouch frowned and continued speaking. "There is supposedly only one being of the Apollomon line left. If Keramon is correct, then that Firamon was once a mega level on the same level as Bismark's Omnimon." Lelouch nearly grimaced, remembering the sheer level of power possessed by that particular digimon.

Omnimon was essentially the combined power of two high tier Mega level digimon, Wargreymon and Metal Garurumon. As such, it had the kind of power that would match that description.

Which was why it was so hard to believe that something like that Firamon had once matched it in power. Anya blinked. "You're serious?" She asked. Omnimon was a combination of two Mega levels. A single digimon's mega level could match that?

"Yes." According to Keramon, the various high leveled digimon allied with the three factions were some of the strongest in existence. Bismark Waldsteen's partners could become Omnimon, which was currently the strongest known Digimon in the Human World. Even so, it could be fended off by the Black Metal Garurumon which protected China from Britannia's wrath. Defeated? Certainly not. But it could be held off for a time.

And for whatever reason, Charles zi Britannia had yet to turn his full attention to either the Federation or the EU. As it was, the Britannian forces were scattered in seemingly random parts of the world. The forces actually invading or fighting for Britannia weren't their full force, and even still they were pushing their opposition back slowly.

However, if his partner was to be believed, there were Digimon who made Omnimon look weak in comparison. Apollomon was not one of them, though it was possible he was stronger than Omnimon. Not to the degree that the Demon Lord Digimon or the Sovereign would be.

Anya shrugged. "It doesn't really matter to me, I guess." And it really didn't. The chances of her working directly with Kururugi were slim to none, and she wasn't interested in him either way.

Her interest was reserved for two people at the moment; Nunnally and Lelouch. The two people who she could actually remember. The thought brought a small downward twitch to her lips for a brief moment.

During her stay in Area Eleven, it was extremely likely she would have one of her blackouts. And she would forget Gino.

Normally this wasn't a problem. She would just go talk with him again after realizing they were supposed to be friends, and that would be that. This time she couldn't do that.

Anya had never realized just how much having Gino around had mattered to her, until she was faced with the realization that she wouldn't be able to meet with him after losing her memories.

She could call him, of course, but the boisterous knight had a terrible habit of leaving his phone either off or in his room. So the chances of actually being able to get a hold of him were rather slim.

What would she do when she forgot Gino and couldn't talk to him afterwards?

... She would have to make a large, unmissable note somewhere in her phone reminding her that Gino was her best friend.

How pathetic was that?

Lelouch had picked up on her discomfort, despite the lack of emotion she showed. He didn't quite understand why, but reading Anya just seemed natural to him. Sure, he was good at reading people's emotions more often than not, but there were various methods and cues that people gave off in certain situations. Some of it was instinct or intuition, but mostly he could read people based on minute details others tended to miss. For Anya, it was different. It was mostly intuition, as though he could just tell immediately what was going on in her head.

He didn't understand it, frankly. She hadn't been in his life for seven years, and when she came back it was as an entirely different person with only a few parts of her old self shining through. Hell, the two of them hadn't even been that close back at the Aries Villa. She had spent most of her time playing with Nunnally, with him sitting off to the side and watching over them as they frolicked about the villa. "Something on your mind?" Lelouch asked, shrugging at her questioning gaze.

"I'm worried I'll forget Gino and never get back into contact with him since I can't go find him after my memories black out." She replied dully.

Lelouch smiled reassuringly towards her. "From my knowledge of the Knight of Three, I doubt he'd let you pull away from him like that. If you don't get in touch with him, he'll probably contact you somehow." While he was trying to reassure her, it was probably true. Gino Weinberg was supposed to be a man who valued his friends, which was why his digital partner Hyokomon wasn't subjected to the same treatment as the digimon of Dorothea Ernst, Monica Kruzewski, and Luciano Bradley.

Anya realized that Lelouch had a valid point. Gino wouldn't just ignore it if she stopped talking to him. He'd worm his way back into her life the way he had the first time.

It was about this time that Anya realized she had been worried over something enough that Lelouch could pick up on it. And his assurance had noticeably relieved her.

For a normal person, this wouldn't be a big deal. Even for your average person with chronic memory loss, reassurance and worry were common enough.

Anya was not normal in the slightest. She did not feel emotions on an average basis. Hers didn't work properly. This was one of the few things in her life that remained constant to her. Even after her memories left her, her emotional deficiency remained apparent.

It was unlike her to worry about remembering Gino.

It was unlike her to be relieved about something.

It was unlike her to be readable by those around her.

So why was this happening? What was it about being around Lelouch that messed with her emotions like this? How could his presence loosen the restraint placed on her emotions? Would it be the same for Nunnally?

Further thoughts on the matter were interrupted as Sealsdramon landed onto the rooftop with a light thump, quickly degenerating back into Commandramon.

While the threat had been dealt with for the moment, he would be remaining in Rookie form for the rest of the day as a precaution. He actually preferred his rookie form to Missimon, despite losing his ability to fly. It probably had something to do with the assault rifle currently slung on his back.

What could he say? The thing packed one helluva punch for a rookie's weapon, enough to put down a Knightmare if he hit it right, and he had become something of a gun nut during his tenure as a Britannian digimon.

"All enemies terminated. Kurisarimon disengaged earlier into the battle, leaving Firamon and myself to clean up the remaining hostiles. Firamon has degenerated back into rookie form as well, while Kurisarimon is unaccounted for. Damage to property is minimal save the crater caused by Kurisarimon's final attack and the scorch mark from Firamon's first strike. Enemies seemed to be unorganized and mostly mindless, it's unlikely this was premeditated. If I was to guess, the Goburimon and Ogremon were fighting one another in the Digital World and stumbled into a tear between the dimensions. The disorientating effect from the transition likely clouded their minds enough that they began considering anything with green their ally once I arrived, immediately shifting their focus." The digimon saluted towards Anya after finishing his report, which he had done in seemingly one breath, with his tail swishing behind him excitedly. Commandramon liked giving reports, it gave him a reason to talk.

He really liked to talk, but most of what he said wasn't really taken into account by anyone other than Anya.

The deadpan stare from Anya was nothing new, although the purple eyed guy giving him that same look was something entirely foreign to him.

"Is he always like this?" Lelouch asked, briefly looking over the battlefield. Commandramon was correct, the damage to the courtyard was minimal at worst. Surprising considering the size of the attack, but he was thankful Ashford wouldn't have to rebuild anything important.

* * *

Rivalz had managed to get over his shock at seeing a real live Tentomon, a cobalt blue one at that, and was now observing the digimon giving it's foe the shock treatment.

To be honest, it wasn't a fight. Goburimon would rush in, club held high, and Tentomon would just shock the hell out of it. The bug seemed to be getting a kick out of this, considering he was using just enough power to daze and injure the goblin but not enough to delete it outright.

Great. He had a homicidal goblin and a sadistic bug to deal with. Oh joy.

Thankfully, the insectoid sadist was on his side. Looking over at the not-fight again, he could say quite assuredly that he was happy with that.

Goburimon himself was getting even more angry than he had been. Difficult, considering that he was practically a manifestation of malice and rage to begin with. The green skinned digimon snarled viciously, slamming it's club into a wall with enough force to bust directly through it and into one of the rooms.

Tentomon was not impressed. "Super Shocker." He said in a bored tone, looking over the frying goblin with more than a little distaste. "This is rather boring. I'll end it now." The insect decided, upping the voltage slightly. He continued steadily increasing the power of his attack while watching the downed goblin as it rolled around on the ground. The snarling and flailing of the green skinned digimon increased as more and more electricity was forced into his body.

Goburimon let out a terribly loud wail, the bright glow overtaking him being drowned by the flashing of the high voltage dancing across his skin. "ROOOOOOOOAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHGGGGGG!"

Tentomon didn't seem to notice his captive had begun to digivolve until his body began to expand rapidly. Of course, by that point it was a bit too late to do much seeing as how the blue bug had been pegged by a bone-white club twice his size, sending him careening into the wall with a loud crash.

An annoyed buzzing came from the battered digimon as he looked over his newly digivolved foe. "How fortunate for him." He noted, seemingly calm despite the severity of the situation.

Rivalz was less so. The tides of this battle had just shifted insurmountably into the favor of the newly digivolved Ogremon, who's various electrical burns had healed during the process. He had thought himself dead when facing a rookie digimon, but now it was a champion. He had never been so afraid in his entire life.

The green skinned monster shook his arms out, moving experimentally. The smoldering rage once held in it's eyes had dulled as Ogremon regained his senses, the malicious haze covering his mind now gone. Unfortunately, this left something arguably worse.

Ogremon were not stupid. They weren't smart, but they were far from incompetent. Their intellect manifested itself in the cruel plans and dirty tactics they employed in battle. As a result, they were dangerous.

While a rampaging berserker of an Ogremon was dangerous, a clear minded and sadistic Ogremon was much more terrifying.

Unfortunately for Rivalz, he was dealing with the latter and he knew it. He could see in the monster's eyes that it had shifted from white-hot rage to a cold, tempered fury that could be directed like any other weapon.

And this one was aimed at the digimon who had been tormenting him prior to his evolution, along with the human it had protected.

Which was exactly what Tentomon had planned from the start.

"Rivalz." Tentomon spoke suddenly, cutting into the jumbled thoughts of his partner before continuing in a firm voice. "You don't want to die here, do you? If not, then grasp onto that desire to live and don't let it go. Hold on to it tightly and use that will as a weapon to defend yourself."

This was the moment of truth. Tentomon had planned this event out from the moment he grew aware of the situation. Shocking the Goburimon the way he had served two purposes. Firstly, it would cause large amounts of pain to it. Secondly, Tentomon was boosting the Goburimon's latent power by transferring his own into the green digimon. It was an extremely tiring process for him, and extremely painful for Goburimon. The end result, however, was that the extra burst of power in addition to the pain would force Goburimon into digivolving.

It was a simple plan with a lot of risk, but in the end it was the best way to truly test the boys resolve. A life or death situation always made for a fine trial by fire, this was no different. Either Rivalz would be able to reach deep within himself and channel his will to live through the Digivice, thus instigating a digivolution of their own, or he would die trying and Tentomon would go with him.

But the cobalt insect was certain this boy could manage it. There was something special about him, he could tell. Behind the lazy eyes of Rivalz Cardemonde was something powerful.

And he would bring that power forth or die trying.

Rivalz, however, was still in the middle of a mental break down. He didn't want to die here. He had so much to look forward to in life, he couldn't just let it all go to waste. He had a job, he had schooling, he had friends.

He had friends.

That thought was like a knife piercing through the jumbled mess that his mind currently was. He did have friends, didn't he?

Shirley, Nina, Nunnally.

Lelouch.

Milly.

There was no way he was going to die and leave them behind. He couldn't. If he died, who would play driver for Lelouch? Who would complain constantly about what little work the Council actually had to do? Who would make funny noises to accompany Milly's comments on Shirley's breasts? Who would get liquid of questionable nature spilled on their newest inductee? Who would attempt to flirt with Milly but be shot down by his own clumsy nature when it came to dealing with the opposite sex?

Who would do any of the things that Rivalz Cardemonde was loved for doing?

No one. And that was simply unacceptable.

The device that had found it's way to his hand earlier picked up on this, and seemingly hummed in approval as a bright light engulfed it. The light then grew to engulf Rivalz, expanding even further to cover Tentomon as well.

Were he capable of it, Tentomon would grin.

Mission accomplished. Digivolution.

* * *

As this was going on, another unlikely candidate was looking over the scene before her with tangible shock.

Not ten minutes ago she had been writing an essay on the first Bio-Emergence of Digimon in the Human World, and now she was watching two real live Digimon brawling in front of her.

It was a very jarring experience, especially considering the fact that she had expected to die after the appearance of the first digimon. It was only the arrival of a second Digimon that had saved her, much like the arrival of Greymon that night nearly a decade ago had saved Nerima from a rampaging Parrotmon.

Dokunemon was only slightly less confused with the entire situation. One moment he had been seated high in a tree, watching cautiously as two warring factions of Ogremon and Goburimon duked it out and fully prepared to make a break for it should the fighting reveal his hiding place.

The next? He had been tumbled and tossed through time and space and was now in a building with a Goburimon and a green haired human who the Goburimon was about to turn into paste.

While he hadn't intended to just let the oaf have his way with the fragile looking human, something else had urged him on all of a sudden to protect this girl with all he had.

As the Digivice formed in the hands of the girl, information seemed to find it's way into Dokunemon's mind. Digidestined, digivices, linked, partners, digivolution, all of it rushed into the insect's mind.

One word stuck out above the others.

Digivolution.

Before his random uprooting and deposit in the human world, Dokunemon was in a rather tough spot. He was as strong as he could possibly be as a rookie but he could not reach champion level. Every time he seemed so close to reaching his goal, he would fall short and he never knew why it had been. But it seemed that with this human as his partner, he could borrow some of her power to unlock his own.

Considering he had been trying and failing to become a Kuwagamon for years, this information almost made him dance and laugh aloud.

While it meant he was going to be stuck with this human for quite some time, possibly until one or both of them perished, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Dokunemon was not meant to be a solitary digimon, but certain events had forced him into it.

Namely, the invasion of his hive's territory by the Celestial Empire.

The large colony of insect digimon was located just outside of formally recognized Sovereign territory, and thus it was neutral ground in the grand scheme of things. It had not remained so.

The Celestial Empire had sent troops to capture any area they could take in order to expand. The forest housing his colony had been one such conquest. After narrowly escaping deletion at the hands of the army of Knightmon, due mostly to the sacrifice of the champion level digimon and elder Okuwamon, he had found himself escaping into the territory of the Seven Demon Lord Digimon. While he had intended to hide out in Sovereign territory, he had been forced to flee in a different direction.

It hadn't been too long ago that he had arrived, alone, in the unfamiliar land, but he had already grown lonely. Having grown among an entire community of various bug digimon, Dokunemon was not keen on the idea of remaining alone for the rest of his life.

Though judging by the amount of conflict his "safe-haven" was immersed in, that may not have been too long had he remained in the digital world.

At any rate, Dokunemon had several reasons to protect this human. From his own sense of morals to his own benefits, it all pointed towards keeping this girl safe from harm and befriending her. And as powerful as he was for being a rookie, protecting his new partner from a slobbering maniac like this Goburimon would be a simple matter.

And then Goburimon started to glow white, a clear sign of digivolution. Dokunemon was torn between being pissed and being scared. He had been trying for years to reach Champion level, and this random Goburimon managed it just in time to save his sorry ass?

"Oh hell no! Insect Horde!" Dokunemon shouted, summoning up a swarm of bees that rushed towards the glowing Goburimon at high speeds, quickly swarming around him and stabbing their stingers into his flesh. Unfortunately, the attack was not nearly impactful enough to interrupt the process. That only left one option, and it was one he was dreading.

Dokunemon did NOT want to get into a melee with a Goburimon, much less one that was in the middle of digivolving into a champion. Yet it seemed to be his only choice at the moment.

"Worm Venom!" He shouted, lunging forward and stabbing his own stinger into the Goburimon's chest.

A tense moment passed, and relief filled Dokunemon and Nina seeing that the glow had receded. It was short lived, however, as the white glow came back stronger than ever a moment later and a bone white club smashed the worm digimon into the wall beside Nina.

The two looked on in fear as Ogremon was revealed in all his brutal glory. Unlike the Goburimon who had been clouded by irrational rage, this Ogremon was fueled by a cruel hatred of the two before him. They were his enemies and his enemies were to be crushed. Might was right, and he was the mightiest of them all! The power flowing through his veins was delectable. He would crush these pathetic ants and move on to the other creatures he could smell milling about this place. He wondered, idly, if he could absorb any humans he deleted and increase his power.

It was certainly worth trying, and he had a perfect test subject right here.

"Shit..." Dokunemon was not terrified. He was afraid, yes, but he was mostly angry. He should have just deleted the bastard right from the start when he had the element of surprise. Instead he had used Poison Powder to force it back and make an entrance.

Damn his sense of dramatic.

He didn't want to die here. The elder Okuwamon had bought the lives of the younglings with his own, and now his sacrifice would be in vain? If only he could digivolve. Dokunemon knew he was close, the power built up within his small body was almost unbearable. But he couldn't push past the threshold from rookie to champion.

Nina's thoughts followed a similar trail. She didn't want to die here, her father couldn't take losing both his daughter and his wife. Her friends would take her death hard, she knew. They had worried so much over her little fainting spell, how would they feel knowing she would never wake back up? And so many things would be left undone.

What about the project she had spent so much time and effort working on? All those sleepless nights peering over every little detail that could possibly effect the outcome, wasted? She had spent years attempting to find a way to use Uranium-235 as an alternate fuel source, and she was so close to a breakthrough. She knew she was close, it was only a matter of time before all of her efforts had finally payed off.

She couldn't leave it unfinished, who would continue her research if she died?

Who would help Lelouch hold the Student Council together? Without her around to help him deal with the paperwork that Milly seemed to pile on him, he may honestly burn himself out under the weight of it.

Milly would be crushed. The two of them had been friends since their families came to Area Eleven, long before she had been Madame President. The only member of the council that Milly had known longer was Lelouch, who had been a childhood friend back from the homeland.

Nina had so much to live for, but the green skinned monster in front of her couldn't care less. To Ogremon she was nothing more than a bug that needed to be squashed.

"Hey!" The green wormlike creature called to her suddenly. "You don't want to die, right?" It asked, voice leading her to believe it was a male. The digimon was struggling to remain upright after the vicious attack from Ogremon, but his voice remained firm.

"O-of course not!" She replied instantly. Wasn't that obvious?

"Then show me how strongly you want to live! You're the only one who can get us out of this alive!" He shouted.

Nina's eyes went wide. "W-what? What c-can I do i-in this s-situation!" She replied.

"The Digivice!" He gestured his head towards the small device in her hand. "It reacts to your emotions! If your will to live is strong enough it could save us."

The bespectacled girl looked at the unassuming piece of metal in her hands. A digivice? It had simply appeared out of thin air, and it certainly didn't look like any digivice she'd ever seen. But, she had no real choice in the matter.

Her hands clenched over the device, as she desperately dredged up the emotions she had been feeling. Without any real idea what to do, Nina tried to "force" her will into the digivice. Just as Ogremon finally decided to charge them, Nina suddenly felt herself calm immensely.

It was as though some all powerful being had told her she was going to be fine. All of her fear dispersed suddenly, replaced by confidence. The digivice glowed brightly, the light expanding outwards in a large sphere that consumed the girl and her partner.

Ogremon swung his club forward, heedless of the light show. It couldn't hurt him now that he was overflowing with power! Nothing could!

A red claw shot out from the blinding light, quickly proving that theory wrong. The club was snapped in two as three talons clenched on it tightly. The light died down and a pair of giant mandibles launched forward to snap the Ogremon in two like his club before him.

The champion level digimon reacted quickly, jumping backwards with the lower half of his broken club clenched tightly in his fist. While the smashing capabilities of his weapon were removed, it was still useful to him since the fracture had left a sharp edge. All he needed to do was find a weak point on his new foe.

Said foe quickly swung it's arm into the other digimon as soon as it landed, sending the ogre flying out of the building through the window. It followed, attempting to keep collateral damage caused by it's massive size to a minimum. The giant red beetle was only partially successful in this endeavor, bursting out of the building it had been contained in.

Ogremon righted himself from the fall, looking over the large beetle who had tossed him around like a rag-doll.

It stood on two legs, knees bent and hunched over ever so slightly. It was mainly red, with dark bluish grey portions on it's legs and abdomen. The creature had four arms, and unlike many insect digimon who's extra limbs were arranged vertically, these were horizontal placed. Pale green flesh surrounded it's mouth, which was filled with sharp teeth. Large, powerful mandibles jutted from the sides of it's maw, ready to crush anything foolish enough to get between them. It had no discernible eyes, though it seemed unhindered by this fact.

And then it roared, drawing even more attention to itself. The roar was loud, carrying further than even the crash and shake of it's exit from the building, which had destroyed most of said building's wall.

That was unfortunate, the beetle had been trying so hard to keep collateral damage low. Even so, what's done is done, and so the creature focused on the significantly smaller Ogremon with a snarl.

"You've caused enough problems." The voice that came from the large red digimon could be described as two voices merged together seamlessly. One was notably female, compared to the more masculine tone of another. The effect it produced was rather intimidating, as if the physical form itself wasn't enough. A sigh drifted from the creature's maw, sounding awed and somewhat fulfilled. "So this is the power of Kuwagamon? I like it..."

Kuwagamon hunched over further, so that all four limbs could easily be used in battle alongside the powerful scissors. "You wanted to prey on the defenseless, but now I'm here to stand against you. Are you still confident?" It was strange how the champion spoke, and not just the voice itself. Kuwagamon were not known for being quiet, and yet this one was speaking at a much lower decibel than normal.

One notable factor about this peculiar brand of Digivolution is that the personalities of the human and digimon are bleeding off onto one another in order to further sync their thoughts and actions. As such, the normal quiet and shy personality of Nina was being bolstered by the determined and slightly angry personality of Dokunemon, but at the same time it was still present. This presented the quiet, yet determined and confident, personality that Kuwagamon was showing off.

Ogremon lunged forward, employing the tried and true method of zigg-zagging towards a larger opponent in order to make it harder for them to get a hit on you. He was far from slow, and he was light on his feet. Combined with the raw power Ogremon held in his body, along with the improved senses from his digivolution, most normal opponents would be easily defeated.

Unfortunately for him, Kuwagamon was no ordinary opponent.

While large, it was by no means slow. And so when Ogremon got too close, it was greeted by Kuwagamon's two right talons. The powerful claws closed on the Ogremon's arms, lifting him up as high above the ground as the bug's limbs would allow. "You zigged when you should have zagged." Kuwagamon noted, before slamming the green digimon down brutally, hard enough to leave a large crater in the earth.

Dust flew from the newly made crater, obscuring the vision of anyone who may have been watching at that moment. After a few moments, the dust settled and revealed that neither Ogremon nor the Kuwagamon were anywhere in sight.

* * *

In a manner reminiscent of a rag-doll, another Ogremon was launched forcefully out of the boy's dormitory.

A second later, it was followed by a larger creature. Who's exit had caused quite a bit of damage to the building, but it couldn't be helped. Having been in a hallway during it's digivolution, the giant blue insect was not exactly given much choice in the matter. Thankfully he had been in a hall near the side of the building and not the center.

While Ogremon was small enough, if only just, to fit in the hallway, this new digimon was not. Not even close.

"I'm... a Kabuterimon?" It asked aloud, seemingly confused. There had been two, a Tentomon and a Rivalz, but now there was only Kabuterimon. What had happened? They had merged to create a champion?

Neither had expected this, and so both were shocked.

So was Ogremon, for that matter, but his shock was both literal and painful. He had been hurled outside via a large ball of lightning, and the after effects of so many volts of electricity coursing through him were quite jarring to his senses.

After getting over the initial shock, Kabuterimon decided on the best course of action.

Kabuterimon was a large blue insect digimon. He was taller than Knightmare Frames, vibrantly colored, and his appearance had to be a surprise to anyone who was looking on. A creature his size, showing up in the middle of a school like Ashford? No way he'd go unnoticed on a normal day.

However, this particular Kabuterimon was observant. He saw the pock marks on the ground in the courtyard, saw the damaged wall of the schools recreation building, and noticed the lack of any students anywhere- except a duo standing on one of the building's roofs. Come to think of it, wasn't that Lelouch's favorite hideaway?- and he quickly determined it was best to finish off the Ogremon fast and try to remain anonymous.

After all, having a digital partner was a big deal in this day and age. There had been a few cases of a digimon breaching and befriending a human, only to later be discovered and forcefully removed and placed under military control. Kabuterimon would be certain to prevent that.

Defeating Ogremon was not terribly difficult at all. He had been forced into digivolution by Tentomon, and so he was not nearly as strong as he should be. More like a high-level rookie than a champion.

And so when Ogremon charged at Kabuterimon with his club held high, the insect digimon simply reached down and grabbed the relatively slow moving digimon mid-stride.

With a quick motion, Kabuterimon tossed the Ogremon just over his head. Another quick motion and the green skinned monster was impaled on his horn, before dispersing in a cloud of pixels.

That left Kabuterimon with only one problem. How was he to escape unnoticed?

Spying the various pock marks in the ground, he decided on the easiest way. Four large claws began smashing into the ground fast enough to throw up a smokescreen of dirt and grass, obscuring visions of the champion level completely.

And for the third time that day, the old "throw up a smokescreen and escape" plan proved itself effective, because when it cleared there was no sign of Kabuterimon.

It really was an effective tactic.

* * *

The aftereffects of the Mass Breach (as the student body had begun to call it.) were a mixed set of problems for the student council. Lelouch himself was looking over various papers related to the repairs and landscaping necessary to get Ashford back in mint condition. This was the major concern since it directly inhibited the students and staff, as well as making the school look less prestigious which was simply intolerable. The quicker they fixed up the school the less they'd need to worry about it effecting their enrollment.

Some problems, like the repair of the two damaged buildings, were easily fixed with time and money. These were two things that Ashford had in spades, partially due to the less than legal exploits of a certain Vice President. After all, Ashford was his home and he owed Reuben a lot. There was no way he'd keep all of the money he gained to himself.

However, the problems began to spawn because of these two buildings being out of commission. The first and most obvious was the fact that the boys dorm was in shambles. This presented numerous problems for the school. It needed to be fixed ASAP. Classes had been postponed until the building was livable again, hopefully it wouldn't take too long.

Next up would be the problem stemming from the significantly less damaged but still busted up Rec building. Many clubs had their operations based out of that building, and it was also where the majority of the schools computers were. Of course, the damage to the building meant that a great deal of inspection was in order to make sure all the electrical cords and various other devices were in working condition and not a safety hazard. That would take time and money, even more than the dorm because of the fact that all manner of equipment for various clubs were in the building and would also need inspection to prove they were safe to use.

The landscaping was a simple matter, thankfully the various craters had missed any pipes or underground cords, and so it could be put on the back burner.

These specific issues were things that mattered most for Ashford's wellbeing, but they were not at the top of the list for Lelouch Lamperouge despite the fact that he was basically overseeing them by himself.

No, Lelouch was far more concerned about other things. Such as the sudden arrival of so many digimon on his home turf.

It was very disconcerting, and Lelouch couldn't help but remember Keramon's words from before.

The Digivice drew digimon to it. Was it his fault that Ashford had been the location of the largest bio-emergence in recorded history? Maybe so. But what could he do to prevent it? He couldn't just toss the digivice away. It was far too important for that.

He would be throwing away one of the strongest weapons he had. Lelouch would have considered it if his enemy didn't already have access to more digimon than him, he really would have, but as it was Infermon was one of his largest advantages. Geass was powerful, amazingly so, but it wouldn't always be able to save him.

And worse, he didn't truly know Geass. It was a power he knew almost nothing about, despite his research into his own capabilities. C.C. had even admitted that there were other Geass users, and each of them were different. So he really didn't know anything about his power at all.

In addition to that Lelouch had come to realize after watching Lindsay, the girl he had Geassed to mark on the wall every day, that his power could have terrible consequences if he wasn't careful. He very well may have prevented that girl from having a normal life if his command didn't wear off, and he didn't think it would. Perhaps he could speak with C.C. about finding a way to remove his Geass from people?

It could wait, though. It would have to wait. That wasn't something he could just go off and do. It would take time and research, as well as an intimate knowledge on the powers of Geass. And that would mean gaining the full cooperation of C.C., which was not going to be a simple matter.

No, now he would have to worry about other things. Euphy came to mind.

With the reports of the bio-emergence, there was no way she would put off her visit for much longer. And due to all the confusion from yesterday he had actually forgotten to tell Nunnally about the entire situation with Euphemia. Or Anya. Or Suzaku.

Anya had settled in well enough considering her position as Knight of Six. No one bothered her due to her status, but no one attempted to befriend her due to her personality. He had talked with her, briefly, about Nunnally and assured her that she could visit them the very next day. He wanted to give the whole situation time to calm down before reuniting the two of them.

Finally, there was Suzaku. Nunnally had probably heard that he had enrolled in the Academy, considering he was the talk of the school, but said boy was not settling in nearly as well as Anya.

He was an Eleven in a Britannian private school and it showed. The only people who actually interacted with him at all were Rivalz, Shirley, and, much to his surprise, Nina.

Shirley had, after hugging the three student council members that had been unaccounted for, explained how the three of them had spoken with Suzaku before they had gone missing. She had then proceeded to tell them about how the brunette and a digimon had literally jumped out of the second story classroom and landed perfectly fine.

Lelouch would need to do something to further integrate Suzaku into the student body. He couldn't stand seeing his one time best friend in such a situation. But classes were out and would be for about a week, according to the reports he was looking over. So it would have to wait.

And as if all of this wasn't enough, Lelouch was also pondering the arrival of the two insect digimon the day before. Kabuterimon and Kuwagamon.

Both of them had appeared from buildings on campus, thus causing much of the headache the council was experiencing. What was more interesting was the way they had both disappeared.

They hadn't destabilized and returned to the digital world, they had both intentionally covered themselves in a dust screen, much like Kurisarimon, and then vanished. That meant that two more powerful digimon had entered the Human world, but neither of them had been spotted since.

More often than not, Digimon did not degenerate of their own volition. A champion would not intentionally give up all of that power unless they had a guarantee they could reattain it later on. The fact that both champion level digimon had vanished without a trace pointed to them both being tied to a human in some way. The best way to determine who these humans were would be to look at anyone who was unaccounted for during the time they appeared.

Nina and Rivalz were both prime suspects in that regard. According to Rivalz, he had been skipping gym class in one of the restrooms in the main building. It wouldn't be the first time he had done it, so it was believable. Nina had apparently been in the council room working on her project. Also a believable story, if not for the fact that Lelouch could tell she was lying.

When Nina lied, and she didn't do it often, she either fiddled with her skirt or played with her braids. Considering these were both things she did on a regular basis, most people wouldn't think too heavily on it. But when Nina lied, she would immediately begin to do either of these things seemingly at random. While it wasn't overly obvious, he was observant enough to notice. Milly picked up on it as well, though that was more due to the fact that Milly had only known Lelouch longer than Nina.

So now Lelouch would be keeping an eye on Nina, discreetly of course, until he could prove one way or another her involvement in the incident.

... Maybe Rivalz, too. His answer hadn't seemed fake, but the bluenette was very good at veiling his lies. It came with the territory of gambling with Lelouch, being a bartender, and skipping class frequently.

His eyes skimmed over to the two in question for a moment, one diligently working and another slowly wading through the swamp known as paperwork. But just as soon as his gaze had landed on them it was gone, focused back onto the veritable mountain of paperwork before him.

The other members of the council could only look on as Lelouch practically shouldered most of the workload they had been assigned while seemingly off in his own world. Even Kallen was impressed that he could easily manage all of that without any apparent effort.

Everyone else had been given various other assignments to handle, from dealing with complaints of clubs due to the sudden halt of all school and club activities to ordering new computers for the rec building to balancing the budget after the cost for repairs were taken into account. Lelouch, on the other hand, had literally everything else piled on top of him.

More amazing would be the fact that he finished almost at the same time as everyone else.

"Alright everyone!" Milly announced, looking over her subjects. All of them, barring Lelouch and Nina, seemed to be quite exhausted from the work they had spent hours doing. "We're done for the day. Go ahead and do whatever it is you do when you're not here!"

Lelouch was the first to stand, rolling his eyes. "Gee, thanks Madame President." He snarked. "And here I thought you actually cared what we did without you around."

"I do. But the hidden cameras generally take care of that."

The black haired boy froze at the tone she had used. She was joking, right? Surely she wouldn't have hidden cameras around the school? While it wouldn't be too much of a concern to most students, seeing as there were already security cameras around the Academy, it was to Lelouch.

He had gone through a lot of trouble to ensure that he could take full control of Ashford's security system should the need arise, security cameras included. If Milly ACTUALLY had her own cameras installed throughout the school it could be disastrous. What if she decided to check and see if something on her cameras matched the security cams, and found some sort of tampering?

... It was a stretch, he'd admit, but damnit paranoia had saved lives before!

"You're not serious, are you?" Shirley asked, hands already covering her bust. Seemed she had different ideas on just what Milly could do with her own hidden cameras.

Milly grinned at the action. "Oh, is someone afraid of little old me spying on them during their _personal time_? Or... should I say _Lulu _time?" The way she emphasized those words made it pretty obvious what she meant.

Shirley's face lit up fifty shades of red as she stuttered out her protests to that idea.

The Lulu in question decided it was best to leave before anything else had a chance to go wrong.

* * *

A panting Lelouch was currently bemoaning his bad luck as he chased after a grey cat. Why did everything go wrong around him?

First the massive Bio Emergence, then the news of Suzaku's digimon, then the destruction of two buildings which heralded the arrival of two more champions to the scene, followed by the paperwork to deal with said buildings, which was followed by the awkwardness of Milly implying Shirley masturbated while thinking of him.

And all of that led up to some stupid cat stealing his Zero mask. He may have asked what else could possibly go wrong if he didn't have first hand experience with that particular phrase.

Thankfully the campus was practically deserted and what few people remained were too busy doing other things to notice a lone cat wearing the mask of a wanted terrorist.

He had JUST gotten around to telling Nunnally about all the ridiculous meetings he'd been getting in to with ghosts of their past, when a cat had sauntered by with his mask on it's head. His reaction would probably have freaked out his little sister, he'd have to apologize later.

A sudden tone coming from various speakers around the school caused dread to well up in Lelouch's chest as he continued to give chase to the feline. "Hello students of Ashford! It's your Student Council President, Milly Ashford, here!"

'No...' He thought to himself. 'No no no.' Please let this be about something else. Please don't let this be about the cat.

His heart began racing even faster as he struggled to catch up to the mangy animal, before it suddenly darted inside an open doorway. He followed frantically, trying to keep the little monster in his sights.

"Since we're all so high strung after the events from yesterday, I've got something to cheer you all up! Or those of you who're still here at the moment." The speaker continued on much to Lelouch's horror. "It's come to my attention that a certain Vice Council president has lost something to a cat, which is currently roaming around campus! First one to catch it and bring me what it's carrying gets a kiss from any student council member of their choice!"

Lelouch tripped. The cat continued running.

The entire school seemed to suddenly come alive as the remaining students, mostly girls who lived on campus or those who were in clubs that required constant upkeep, swarmed to locate the cat-burglar.

"I didn't even SAY it this time!" He muttered under his breath, his annoyance tangible. Why must everything go wrong? Can he not have a simple, boring, all according to plan kind of day?

Apparently not, because now every person on the campus, and thankfully there were so few, would be searching for a cat wearing his mask. His Zero mask.

Lelouch promptly got back up and took off in the direction he had last seen the feline.

* * *

The announcement that catching the cat would result in kissing a member of the student council had caused a whole myriad of different reactions.

Most of the girls on campus at the time had a fire in their eyes as they began to hunt down the only thing standing between them and a kiss with the Vice President and Ashford Academy's resident heartthrob.

Boys on campus at the time immediately split into three groups; those who wanted to kiss Kallen, those who wanted to kiss Milly, and those who wanted a kiss with Shirley. A few here and there intended to use their free kiss on the wallflower of the council, but they were a minority that was drowned out by the majority.

And actual members of the council were either elated, scared shitless, horrified at the thought of losing their first kiss to a random stranger, or walking away from the student council room with a bottle of water.

We'll focus on the last one, who was entirely unconcerned with the entire affair.

That would, of course, be Nina.

The green haired girl sighed at the antics of her oldest friend, knowing that this would likely throw Lelouch into fits. Poor boy.

It didn't matter too much to her. Nina didn't particularly want to kiss any members of the council... no, it was more like she was too shy to do it. She actually wouldn't mind a kiss with Lelouch, Shirley, Kallen, or Milly. She quickly shook her head before her mind went into the gutter again. Nina had been doing that far more often than she would like, usually with either Milly or Lelouch as the stars of her fantasies.

And if she didn't catch the feline, quite likely considering she wasn't trying at all to do so, then she didn't have anything to really worry about. The chances of a boy who wanted to kiss her over the likes of Milly, Shirley, and Kallen were slim to none. She was just the wallflower, none of the student body really cared about her save the Council and Nunnally.

She wasn't concerned about that, either. She had friends, very good friends for that matter, so why would she care if the nameless masses adored her like Lelouch or Milly?

Her train of though was broken by a soft paw lightly patting her leg, which caused her to look down in confusion.

Nina's confusion quickly turned to shock and horror as she saw just what was staring back at her. The grey cat looked up at her, mewling plaintively and wearing the mask of Area Eleven's most wanted terrorist.

The bespectacled girl quickly covered her mouth to prevent herself from screaming. Why did this cat have Zero's mask? Wasn't it supposed to be carrying something belonging to the vice... presi... dent...

"No..." She practically whimpered, kneeling down as though she was in a trance. With gentle hands she removed the mask from the cat, who stared up at her while mewing happily at her for removing the annoying obstruction from it's head. "H-he can't... th-there has t-to be s-some r-reason..." Nina felt like she was going to throw up. This wasn't some half-assed replica mask made on a whim. This was real. It was too well made to be anything but the genuine article.

Lelouch Lamperouge, the Vice President of the Student Council, resident heartthrob of Ashford Academy, doting older brother to Nunnally, and object of her very slight crush was the masked terrorist Zero.

Zero, who had killed a member of Britannian Royalty, was going to her school.

And he was one of her closest friends.

Nina's hands roamed over the mask on their own, the absurdity of the situation lost on them. One hand pressed a small button, shocking the girl as the mask collapsed in on itself until it was practically flat. It had flattened itself enough that she could easily slip it into her schoolbag...

The sound of rapidly falling footsteps brought Nina back to reality, just in time for her to stuff the mask into her bag without being noticed by the person running by.

He was a blond haired boy with brown eyes, and if Nina recalled correctly he was with the gardening club. He hardly seemed to notice her as he ran off after the cat he had startled into running.

And so Nina was left alone in the hallway, almost ready to cry.

How could this have happened? How could Lelouch have been Zero?

An hour later, Nina was seated on her bed with Zero's mask tucked away beneath it, far out of sight and hidden under one of her casual shirts.

"What do I do?" She asked, hands on her head and eyes tearing up. "How am I supposed to react to this? Lelouch is a terrorist." Actually saying it out loud made the situation all the more real to her.

Zero acted nothing like Lelouch. Lelouch was kind, if slightly aloof, whereas Zero was... was...

What was Zero actually like, for that matter? From the brief appearance he made during the rescue of Suzaku Kururugi, Zero hadn't shown himself to be overly malicious. Brilliant, yes, perhaps arrogant, but not malicious. He had killed Clovis, but the prince had ordered a massacre. If Zero hadn't killed him then... if Lelouch hadn't killed Clovis, he would have been killed in the chaos.

No one really knew Zero, but Nina did know Lelouch. After thinking about it for a few moments, Nina realized that Lelouch wouldn't just sit by and watch people dying around him. He wasn't that kind of person.

The more Nina really thought about it, the more obvious it became that Lelouch was Zero. But it still didn't help her at all, knowing this. If anything it just made the whole situation worse.

"Er... maybe you should talk to him?" A small voice suggested. The voice in question belonged to a small green flower bud with several small thorns on it's body, and a leaflike tail. Currently, the small creature's face was scrunched up in confusion. He had no idea who these people, Lelouch and Zero, were supposed to be. It had only been a day and he was pretty much restricted to this room.

It was fortunate Nina was one of the few people with no roommates, otherwise all the secrets she was hiding in this one place would be much harder to keep. "I d-don't know if I w-want to speak w-with L-Lelouch..." Nina admitted, releasing a shaky sigh. "I j-just learned h-he's a t-terrorist. H-he's killed people, Budmon. W-what if h-he t-tries t-to k-k-kill me f-for f-finding out?" That thought terrified her. Lelouch was one of her very few friends, and he was closer to her than Rivalz and Shirley because they often had to pull late-nighters to keep the school from going to the dogs. He ranked just under Milly in her heart, with Rivalz, Shirley, and Nunnally following directly after.

"I'll come with you, then. If he pulls anything then I'll cover him head-to-toe in a swarm of angry bees." The in-training digimon replied easily. "I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you, so it's perfectly alright. Just talk with your friend, you'll be safe."

Nina frowned deeply, sniffling. "I-I don't... I w-wish I h-hadn't found t-the mask." She muttered. "I w-want to g-go back t-to being ignorant... I r-really just want to pretend e-everything's the s-same as it w-was." Hearing that Budmon was willing to kill Lelouch to protect her didn't really have the calming effect he had intended. If anything it just made her realize how messed up the situation really was, since she didn't _want _to hurt Lelouch at all despite his being Zero. After all, Nina held Lelouch far closer to her heart than Clovis had ever been.

Nina cried for a long time, that night. She didn't know what to do.

Why did she have to find that stupid mask? Why couldn't it have been someone else?

And why did that last thought make her feel so uncomfortable?

After a moment, Nina realized that she didn't want that mask to be found by anyone else because they might reveal Lelouch as Zero.

Anyone else may have immediately rushed to the authorities, but she wouldn't.

For once in her life, Nina Einstein didn't want a terrorist to be apprehended.

It would have been funny if it wasn't so sad.

* * *

We'll leave it off here. Much like my previous attempt at this fic, I've let Nina in on the identity of our masked madman before she has any real reason to resent him. What effects could this have later on down the line, or even in the immediate future?

Wouldn't you like to know? :3


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I own nothing. You hear me? NOTHING!

Alright, before I go into my usual nonsensical prattling, let's talk serious stuff. I'm gonna answer a few general concerns and questions I've spotted in the reviews. Have I mentioned how much I love getting reviews, by the way? Seriously, they're a large part of my inspiration for actually writing this stuff.

Anyhow. First concern to address is that of power levels. Someone pointed out in a review that they felt Omnimon (Bismark's) and Infermon (Lelouch's) were weaker than what one would expect of them. This is both true and intended.

In the case of Bismark's Omnimon, it is a fusion of a Wargreymon and a Metal Garurumon, who are his two digimon partners. The Royal Knight digimon who was entrusted to defend "God" in some Digimon series or another (I don't know all of them, only the various digimon shows. None of the Manga stuff. Bear that in mind.) is... well, not. It's Omnimon, not a DNA/Jogress (I prefer to say DNA, honestly.) digivolved pair of megas. It's on it's own level. Bismark's partners are not the only Omnimon in existence, but they ARE the only one in the Human world.

Another note that fits into this; Digimon in the Digital world will often be stronger than their counterparts, if any, in the Human world. Exceptions to this include, mainly, the Digidestined Digimon. Others would be Coronamon/Lunamon, who originated from the Digital world. There is an explanation for this aside from the obvious fact that the digital world is a dog-eat-dog world and you NEED to be strong to survive.

And as far as Infermon goes? I'll start off from the POV of an author. Giving Lelouch Infermon as opposed to Kurisarimon is a very difficult decision to make. Kurisarimon are basically immobile. I've seen them float off the ground, but they don't seem to have any form of locomotion. Writing it was somewhat awkward, and it restricted a lot of the more intelligent/strategic decisions Lelouch could have made during quick paced fights. It was restricting. And just flat out giving them the ability to reach Ultimate with no strings attached at a point in the story where Ultimate level digimon are few and far apart, restricted to about a dozen including those who could go above it? He would be too strong too soon. So I gave him a weaker, much weaker in comparison to the Infermon from the movies who was ridiculously strong to begin with, Infermon.

Just because something has the form of an ultimate doesn't mean it's as strong as an ultimate. Take Whamon for example. When he digivolves from Champion level, he just becomes a bigger and stronger version of Whamon. Literally, not even a name change. Just pure power addition. That's what will happen for Infermon once I'm at a point in the story where it can happen without making Lelouch overly powerful.

Finally, don't think too heavily on the power of the digimon in the digital world just yet. The trip to the Digital world will be much further into the story, much much further in. Suffice to say, by the time we get to the actual digital world all of the people going into it will be strong enough to pose a threat to the various powerhouses within it. That ought to tell you that it's gonna be a while.

Moving on to another thing. Someone seems to think I meant to say Hyogamon, which is basically an ice version of Ogremon. I didn't. There is a digimon called Hyokkomon, it's a rookie level digimon that looks something like a canary using it's egg as armor. And it carries a sword. It's an honest mistake, but I figured I'd clear that up for you guys.

This should be the last thing to cover before the story begins, so here it is. Sorry for the large AN but I feel informing you guys like this is better than leaving you in the dark.

For those of you who feel too many Digimon are being introduced, there IS a reason for it. Did you guys think Lelouch finding a Digivice and partnering with Keramon would just be an isolated incident? Lelouch is the FIRST Digidestined in this universe. In Digimon Adventure, there were seven to begin with and then an eigth. In Digimon Adventure 02, there were three that the show actually followed... but there were like a hundred all around the world. Probably more. It was a pretty big number.

Adventure 01 was in a world where Digimon were a complete unknown, and the first seven kids were basically pioneers in the field of Digimon. In this story, their existence has been known for seven years and people have actually managed to control them for their own plans. Britannia and the EU have a LOT of digimon under their control. We're not going to see too many of them because Area Eleven was supposed to be stable and thus didn't require interference from the Empire's strongest weapons, they were better used elsewhere. Likewise, the EU has to use their Digimon to fend off Britannia's own whenever they can. China has a powerful and motivated Mega on their side in addition to a few others who've yet to be mentioned in detail. Suffice to say that Li Xingke and his higher ups have digimon.

So while it may seem like I'm adding an influx of digimon to the story, I'm really not. So far I've added Keramon, Coronamon, Lunamon, Tentomon, and Dokunemon to the human world in a permanent fashion. Anyone else had already been there from the start, like Commandramon and the other KoTR digital partners, and Cornelia's GeoAgumon (Sounds neat to me. *Shrug*)

However, the main players have been established thus far. I won't be dropping in new digimon to partner up with everyone and their mother, though there will be a decent amount of them because I need to equalize the powerbases. That is to say, either Lelouch, Nina, and Rivalz get ridiculously strong or I introduce more digimon to their side to even it out. This is necessary. Not only is Britannia a nation which controls a third of the world, but they also have a near monopoly on Digimon because they've had the technology to control them for longer than anyone else. Let's say Britannia has about a hundred digimon of various levels of power, excluding the Knights of the Round and any Royal controlled Digimon. You would need three Megas or one mega and two powerful ultimates to handle that many digimon. Add them to the Knights of the Round who can reach Ultimate level, some who can go higher? Yeah. You see the problem here. There's only so much strategy can accomplish when you're THAT outgunned. So more digimon will need to be introduced, eventually, to help even things out.

Well shit. This has gone on way longer than I'd like, but I still have one last thing to say. There WILL be more Digidestined. I'm planning to have five of them. The difference between Digidestined and regular Tamers (those with digimon parnters) is that the Digidestined can merge with their digimon, I don't know quite how many Tamers there will be just yet. And on the note of merging with digimon, has anyone else noticed that every new season of the Digimon anime brought new forms of Digivolution? First came regular digivolution and DNA, then Armor and more DNA digivolving, then came Bio-Merging in Tamers, and Spirit Evolution in Frontier, and Burst Mode in the next one. Now there's Xross Wars with DigiXross or whatever (Haven't looked into it.) So with this in mind, I gave them something LIKE bio-merging except with fundamental differences. Such as the ability to do it in the human world from the start.

So without anymore rambling from me, here's the story.

* * *

It had been a long time since Lelouch had been truly frightened. The last time had been when the bombs fell upon the Kururugi Shrine and Nunnally hadn't been directly in his sight.

While his terror now paled in comparison to the sheer bone chilling horror he felt in that instance, it was the closest he had ever come to matching that. He had lost his Zero mask.

A cat. A stupid, insignificant tomcat had stolen one of the two pieces of physical evidence that could be used to identify him as the most wanted criminal in Britannia.

He had been led on a wild goose chase around the entire campus of Ashford Academy, being forced to move slower than he would've liked in order to keep Suzaku fooled into believing he was still as weak as he had been seven years ago, and nearly fallen off of a building and to his death because one of the shingles had been loose.

And after all of that, they found the cat. But it didn't have his mask.

The whole situation was made worse by the fact that Milly had decided to adopt the feline as a pet. So the beast who may have cost him everything would be living the life of luxury from now on. Wasn't that just peachy?

After the whole fiasco had died down, only one good thing had come of it. Suzaku had managed to find a place for himself in the Student Council at Lelouch's request, and after the boy had saved him from falling to his death the other members had been happy to accept him. The smile on Suzaku's face almost made Lelouch feel better about being unable to find his mask.

Almost. Helping the boy who had once been his best friend was nice and all, but it didn't change the fact that Lelouch may find himself either arrested or escaping arrest and subsequent execution within the next few days.

Right now, the dark haired boy was doing something that _would _change that. Long ago, he had hacked the security systems of Ashford and linked them to his own laptop. This meant, in short, that he could control Ashford almost entirely. He could sound alarms, commence lockdown, unlock individual rooms, view and edit security footage, and many other things.

Currently he was tracing the cat, Arthur, as the animal ran through the academy halls. It wasn't too difficult, the cat hadn't been attempting to avoid the cameras after all, but he made certain to delete the footage from each individual camera that showed the masked feline. Thankfully, due to the Mass Breach, not many students were on campus. So far it didn't seem like Arthur had been spotted during his run.

Maybe the cat had just lost his mask somewhere? It was possible. The mask was certainly not made to fit a cat, the fact that it stayed on as long as it had was a shock in the first place, and so maybe the animal had jarred the mask off of his head and it landed in some obscure place that no one would have located yet? And if a student had picked up the mask, he would find them and Geass them to keep quiet about it and give him the names of anyone they'd told. From there he'd have to run damage control.

For a moment, he grimaced as the guilt of using this potentially harmful power on an innocent student hit him, but it had to be done. He couldn't be found out here. Nunnally would be exposed for sure.

And that was simply not going to happen if he had any say in the matter.

Tsumemon remained silent in his duffle bag, completely aware of just how dangerous this situation was. Zero had killed a member of Britannian Royalty. That was a big deal. Prince Clovis la Britannia was the first member of the Royal Family to be killed since Marianne vi Britannia, and his killer had both a face and a name unlike those who had slain the Knight of Two. He had the hatred and fear of an entire Empire aimed at him. So Lelouch had a right to be nervous at his potential exposure.

The digimon was also unhappy that he had been unable to help Lelouch catch the cat that had made off with his mask, but Lelouch had made it clear to him that he absolutely had to remain a secret. Which was why it was so surprising he was willing to throw away his secrecy for the sake of the Knight of Six, but Tsumemon couldn't really fault him for that. According to Lelouch he had some history with the girl back when he was a child, when the girl had lived with his family to take etiquette lessons.

The little blue digimon stifled a short snicker, remembering how Lelouch had described that particular activity as ridiculous. Not because his mother was a commoner before her marriage to the Emperor, oh no. It was because Marianne vi Britannia was most certainly NOT a trophy wife who did little more than sit around and look pretty. She was a soldier, Knight of Two, and she had used her Knightmare frame at least once to intimidate other consorts.

Not the sort of person most would trust to teach their children etiquette.

Lelouch himself was still busily examining the footage of the security cameras, fingers gliding across the keyboard and touchpad with speed an accuracy that many a pianist would applaud.

He frowned, however, realizing just how close he was getting to the end of the cat's path. The chase had ended near the tower, and there were only a few cameras left until he reached the one viewing it. "The cat still has my mask, though..." He murmured, sighing quietly to himself.

Shifting the screen once more, he gasped aloud seeing just who was on the screen. "N-Nina!" Lelouch exclaimed in shock. And there was Arthur, the cat. Wearing his mask and pawing at Nina's leg.

He watched her face twist first to shocked fear, before slowly being taken over by the horrifying realization that the mask of Zero belonged to one of her classmates and closest friends.

That made matters so much more complicated. Infinitely so.

Geassing a random student was one thing, and even that would leave him feeling somewhat guilty. But using this power on Nina, a member of the Student Council? He had practically sworn to himself that he wouldn't use it on them.

Even worse was the fact that this was _Nina_, a girl who had lost her mother to terrorists nearly seven years ago. Finding out that he was Zero would be a major hit to her possibly fragile psyche.

"So... the green haired one with glasses?" Tsumemon piped in from his desk, looking over the screen. "This got a whole lot more complicated, didn't it?" He asked, watching as Nina slid the mask into her bag just as another boy ran by her.

Lelouch's brow furrowed. "She hid the mask. It may have been reflex, or she may have consciously decided to keep it a secret. The entire campus was aware that whatever Arthur had made off with belonged to me. Hopefully this means she didn't tell anyone else." Another sigh escaped his lips, this time more of an exhausted sigh than his first. "It just had to be Nina, though, didn't it? Can I not catch a break?"

"So I take it you're not going to use your Geass on her, Lelouch?" C.C. called out from her position on his bed. "You seemed adverse to the idea of using it on your friends." Said witch was, as usual, clothed in nothing but one of Lelouch's shirts. Her current position had her laying on her back, her head facing him, with her legs lazily kicking at the air. Only a scant few inches of cloth were covering her decency, and somehow despite her lazy kicking motions those final few inches would not be given. Also as usual.

Damn seductive witch. She did it to get under his skin, and he knew it. But it was damnably effective despite his knowing so.

And with legs like that it was no wonder.

"I'll do what I must." Lelouch replied, teeth gritting as he released a third sigh, this time to get his mind off of the incredibly attractive woman lying on his bed and back onto the matter at hand. It really was a hard decision, after all.. Geass could make all of this disappear easily. Nina would go back to her normal life and Lelouch's secret wouldn't be revealed.

But he wasn't sure what kind of side effects his Geass could have. For all he knew it could cause a delayed death on it's targets. C.C. hadn't helped much, saying that each Geass could manifest itself differently from person to person. And she hadn't said that something like what he theorized was an impossible. Her exact words were "In my life, I've yet to come across a Geass that has a delayed side-effect that kills it's target. However, each and every Geass power is different. What you described, while I've not seen it before, is a possibility. Though I have encountered many Geass with rather... dangerous side effects, they are mostly directed towards the user themselves." And then she had given him a pointed look, warning him to be mindful of his ability's growth. Whatever that meant, exactly, he had yet to learn.

Geass would be his absolute last resort in this situation. He couldn't forgive himself if he was to harm his friends so carelessly, even if it was the most effective way to handle a situation.

That last thought actually brought a slight upward tilt to his lips. It was practically the opposite of how Britannia worked. If you wanted to get stronger you used others to get there and then threw them away. It was a dog-eat-dog world out there, after all.

The exiled prince stood, shaking away his idle thoughts. "It's late. I'll have to be discreet while making my way to the girl's dorm."

Unfortunately, the girl's dorm was still in use. While school wasn't in session for the week, many of the girls had decided to stick around campus for the sake of convenience. The school was a lot closer to most of the city's hotspots than any other residences most of them had, and some simply had no other residence nearby due to their families remaining in the mainland.

The boys who had been displaced by the destruction of their dorms were all either with any family or close friends they had in Area Eleven, or staying in a hotel who's proprietor owed the Ashefords a favor and thus gave a heavily reduced price for a week long stay.

Needless to say, it was a rather large favor. It had also been the first time Ashford had ever had this issue. The foundation of the Settlement was practically earthquake proof, powerful windstorms were quite rare, and flooding was also practically nonexistent in the actual settlement due once again to it's foundations. Damages on the scale Ashford was facing right now were quite uncommon.

Lelouch would bet that over sixty percent of Ashford's female population were still on campus. It was quite late, around midnight he noted, and so nearly everyone should be asleep or in their rooms. Sneaking in wouldn't be too difficult, however remaining undetected while inside could either be extremely simple or an exercise in futility depending on his luck.

... Did he really want to bet on luck right now? Perhaps waiting until tomorrow would be better... but the longer he waited the more time Nina would have to gather her thoughts. And the more time Nina had to gather her thoughts the more likely she was to turn him in.

"You know, I never took you for the kind to sneak into the girl's dormitory. Didn't think panty-raids were your style, Lelouch." She frowned slightly as he entirely ignored her jab, though the frown melted away into a positively predatory smirk mere moments later. "I'd offer to let you see mine... but I'm not wearing any~." She accentuated this by allowing the shirt to raise ever so slightly more...

"I'm busy thinking, Witch." Lelouch replied, completely unphased. He had barely even spared her a glance, and not even the smallest tinge of pink stained his cheeks.

Said witch blinked, her mouth slightly agape. Was this seventeen year old, warm blooded male actually ignoring her nearly flashing her naughty bits? That was both impressive and aggravating. Impressive because, frankly, she was hot. In addition to the fact that she was sexy and she knew it, C.C. also knew how to use it. She'd been around long enough to pick up quite a bit in the way of seduction.

So, when an immortal woman with the body of an attractive young lady and the seductive know-how of an experienced courtesan was point blank _ignored _by anyone, it was rather impressive.

It was aggravating because this meant that either he'd been playing along with her, he could basically turn off his sex drive on demand, or he was getting used to her trying to get under his skin via subtle methods.

... As subtle as practically flashing someone could be, of course. This meant she'd either been had, she could be ignored at the drop of a hat, or she needed to step up her game. Considering she had been around a lot longer than Lelouch, C.C. felt she could safely assume that the first option was not the case. The second seemed quite likely, though she was sincerely hoping it wasn't because that would be no fun at all, and the third meant she would actually have to _try _and get him hot under the collar instead of just taking the occasional shot like she had been.

And while C.C. was pondering on just how far she was going to go to get that delightful expression of his, Lelouch had left the room.

* * *

Nina couldn't sleep. There were quite a few reasons for this, though the main two would be her thoughts and her fears.

Her thoughts were all circling hopelessly around the identity of Zero, and over just what she was supposed to do with that knowledge. She didn't want to turn him in to the authorities, he was her friend. One of the few people who actually associated with her, though that would likely be by her own actions more than anything people had against her. Worse than that would be the fact that his little sister would be devastated if something were to happen to him, or if she even found out he was a terrorist. This lead to her hopelessly thinking on just what she _could _do in this situation. Nina didn't want to get Lelouch arrested, but he was a terrorist. He had killed a member of royalty.

Zero had terrified Nina upon his debut, simply because someone who could completely outmaneuver the military as easily as he did was someone who would not be put down without a fight. And Britannia most certainly wanted to put down Zero.

Another question that haunted her mind was this. Just what was Zero, what was _Lelouch_, going to do next?

That scared her more than Zero's debut could, for certain. Lelouch was a genius. While he may not have the scientific knowledge Nina had, his all around intellect and tactical ability definitely put her to shame. Nina was smart, perhaps even a genius, but only in her own field. Science. She knew this and she knew it well.

Lelouch was simply brilliant. Aside from physical activities, Nina had yet to see Lelouch fail at something he tried. From cooking to instrument playing to any type of video game Rivalz had bugged him into playing and even to the very same subject Nina had such proficiency in. Lelouch could do nearly anything and do it well. She had no doubt that if Lelouch's interest lied as deeply in science as her own did that he may well have surpassed her in her own field.

With that in mind, and seeing that he had already bested the military twice on two separate occasions, it was honestly quite terrifying to think of just what Zero could accomplish. He had gone silent for the moment, though no one could rightly say why. Many people were speculating that he had gone into hiding because the Witch of Britannia had arrived in the Settlement and was quickly stomping out terrorist factions left and right. Others believed he was simply biding his time until a suitable opening presented itself.

Knowing what she did now, Nina could safely say it was the latter. His opponents were on the move, Lelouch just had to find the correct moment to make his own move.

Moving away from her thoughts going wild in her head while she was sitting awake restlessly, we come to the second reason Nina was unable to sleep.

Nightmares. Already Nina had run through scenarios where Lelouch killed her for learning his secret, though she quickly squashed those thoughts before they could take root too deeply, and she knew from experience that nightmares tended to follow. After the horrible things Nina had seen in her dreams, she wasn't eager to try her luck after discovering the fact that one of her friends had killed people in cold blood, namely a prince of the nation they called home.

It was ironic, really. Not two days ago Nina had been lamenting the fact that her dreams had taken an erotic turn involving the dark haired vice president, but she would vastly prefer them to the inevitable nightmares involving that same dark haired boy grinning viciously at her as his finger slowly pulled back the trigger of a pistol.

She'd seen him make that smile once to creep out Rivalz. Curse her near photographic memory for bringing it up in these circumstances.

A sudden, light tapping at her door made Nina's head shoot up in surprise. Slowly standing from her bed, Nina crept over to the door. "Yes? Who's t-there?" She asked, quietly.

While she had her suspicions, the girl was desperately hoping she was incorrect.

"It's Lelouch."

And of course it was.

"May I come in?" His voice called quietly, just loud enough to carry through the wood of the door.

Nina let out a shuddering sigh, steeling her resolve and mentally preparing herself for what was certain to be a difficult and possibly dangerous conversation. "Y-yes." She managed, her voice nearly cracking due to her nervousness.

The girl opened the door, moving away from it rather quickly like an animal poking at something potentially harmful. The dark haired boy looked her over once, easily discerning that she was quite distressed.

"Nina." Lelouch began, closing the door behind him and making certain to lock it just in case. "I..." He sighed. He had made his way here so quickly that he really didn't know just what to say to her. It was one of the rare moments in which Lelouch simply had no idea what to say, while still remaining cognizant. "... You found my mask."

And there it was. The admission straight from the lips of the suspect. She knew, he knew she knew, it was time to continue before either she freaked out or he lost what he was going to say. "You probably don't understand why I'm doing this, Nina. I can't force you to understand, either."

"Why?" Nina asked him, hands clenching. She made certain to keep a respectable distance from him, as though he would lash out at any second to strike at her. "What do you want to accomplish by doing this, Lelouch?"

Lelouch closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. When he opened them again you could see the difference. It was a subtle shift in posture, but a simple glance at his face and anyone who knew him could tell that he was determined. Those were the eyes of a man who had the utmost conviction in what he was doing. "This world is rotten, Nina." He began, his sudden change clearly affecting the girl. "It's rotten to the core and Britannia is at the center of it. This empire is expanding, eating away at the world as it goes. Every area conquered becomes just that. Another "Area" of the "Holy Empire". Lives are lost, and entire cultures are demolished and subjugated."

Nina was taken aback by just how... emotional Lelouch was on this subject. She hadn't known what to expect, but this most certainly wasn't it. She had seldom seen the dark haired Vice President so moved. He was still quiet, his volume just above a whisper, but the emotion in his voice was unmistakable at any volume.

"But that isn't what is truly horrid about this empire." He continued, looking directly into her eyes. "The strong survive in Britannia just to crush the weak underfoot. Is that right? No, but in Britannia it's the norm. Everywhere you look it's another example of the strong preying upon the weak. And it's not only socially acceptable, but expected. How can this empire be anything but a perfect example of everything that is wrong with the world?"

With her hands tightly grasping her skirt, Nina sat back on the bed. "You feel strongly about it..." She noted. "Lelouch... your last name isn't Lamperouge, is it?" The green haired girl asked rhetorically, looking him in the eye as she said this. "You're actually Lelouch vi Britannia, aren't you? An exiled prince, thought to be dead?"

Much to his credit, Lelouch didn't falter. "Yes. I am Lelouch vi Britannia, the prince who was cast away by his own country for daring to challenge the Emperor's decisions."

Honestly? He had figured Nina would put two and two together. No one, not Nunnally, Milly, and most certainly not himself, talked about the past of the Lamperouge siblings. Nina had been friends with Milly for nearly as long as Lelouch had been, and she knew of the Ashford's connections to Marianne vi Britannia. How could she not? It was common knowledge.

And so when a pair of siblings with no real backstory suddenly came into their lives, with the support of the Headmaster of Ashford and friendship of his granddaughter, someone like Nina would ask questions. And in doing so, she would find answers.

He wasn't surprised. This was one of the few things he had the time to take into account before reaching her room.

"S-so... what is all of this, then, Lelouch?" Nina practically whimpered. "Is this just revenge? Is that why you would kill your own brother?"

Lelouch's teeth grit slightly, and he looked over the girl. She was scared of him.

It hurt. It hurt him badly. One of his friends, someone who he had spent hours at a time with on a semifrequent basis, and they were scared of him.

The fire in his eyes dimmed. "No." He replied, quieter than his previous speech. Why did she have to find out? Why did she have to be scared of him?

How long had it been since he had been genuinely hurt by someone else? He couldn't honestly say he knew. This was the first time he had to deal with a close friend being blatantly _scared to be around him_. Even the Emperor throwing him away alongside his sister didn't hurt him as deeply as this did. With the Emperor, he could be angry. He could hate that man and eventually be the one to put an end to his life.

With her, it was a different story. At the moment, she had every right to be fearful of him. He was a murderer. He was a rebel. She was just a student."N-Nina..." He nearly begged. "You know it's still me, right? Even though I'm Zero, I'm still me. I wouldn't hurt you or any of the student council. You know that, right?" Lelouch could hardly believe how pathetic he sounded right now. Or how horrible he felt. This was something he had never expected to happen. It seemed so ludicrous. One of his friends was terrified of him and they had perfectly valid reasons for it.

Nina's eyes widened slightly as she realized something. The person standing before her right now wasn't Zero. This wasn't the exiled prince of Britannia.

... Or... perhaps that's exactly who he was. Someone who had been thrown away once and would do almost anything to keep it from happening again.

The girl had never seen Lelouch in such a state before. He looked ready to slip into depression.

This was Lelouch. Her friend. He was an exiled prince, and he was a terrorist who had killed a prince, but standing before her was a seventeen year old boy who was terrified that one of his friends was scared of _him._

What a sobering thought that was. And here Nina had believed she was the only one having a mental crisis over this event.

But what was she supposed to do in this situation? Had anyone ever had to deal with this before or was she just that unlucky?

She was supposed to be angry. He was supposed to be in the wrong here! He was a terrorist! He had killed people! She was supposed to be repulsed and terrified because he was Zero!

That was what was supposed to happen. The reality? After looking into a pair of nearly heartbroken amethyst eyes, she couldn't keep any of the fear or ire she had towards him. Those weren't the eyes of a killer. Those were the eyes of a person who was praying that they wouldn't lose someone close to them over their own actions.

Nina sighed. Before she really knew what she was doing, the girl had made her way closer to Lelouch.

Said boy tensed as she gently embraced him, before relaxing with a barely audible sigh of relief. "No, I'm not s-scared of you Lelouch." She assured him, allowing the taller boy to lean against her.

"Nina... I can't apologize for this. For Zero." Lelouch began, relieved beyond measure that Nina had calmed down. And calmed him down, for that matter. "I'm doing what I know is right. It's not just about revenge..." Revenge was a dangerous thing. Some people could desire vengeance so much that it blinds them to the rest of the world. It could end with the one seeking revenge becoming even more irredeemable than the one who had wronged them in the first place.

Lelouch would never allow himself to be blinded by his desire for vengeance. Above everything else, there was his desire to rebuild this rotten world anew. This revolution wasn't just for him, it was for everyone too weak to fight against their oppressors.

Long ago, Lelouch had promised to obliterate Britannia. He still intended to. But it wasn't the driving force behind his actions.

The war he was waging now... it was for Nunnally. It was for the Japanese. It was for the rebels fighting and dying meaningless battles against Britannia. It was for those tangled within the wretched society lurking beneath the pristine appearance of Britannia.

Revenge was not his motivation. It was something to be accomplished along the way.

"Then... w-what?" Nina whispered, a small frown marring her face. "I d-don't understand why you're doing this."

Lelouch sighed against her shoulder. "Nina, I'm doing this because no one deserves to be stripped of everything and left to rot. Every day, I look at this city and feel anger burning up inside of me. I was there when the first bombs fell, Nina. I walked through a war zone and saw the decaying bodies of soldier and civilian alike. Men, women, children, all dead because Britannia wanted more. I had to _lie _to Nunnally, tell her we were walking near a landfill."

Nina shuddered, feeling him tense in her arms once more. He had carried Nunnally, crippled and blind, through a battlefield. And he had pretended it was nothing but a landfill to protect his little sister.

How many sights had he seen and ignored that would make grown men vomit, all for the sake of his sweet little sister? What kind of will power did a ten year old have to possess to ignore the terrible things he must have seen as he traversed a field of corpses?

"There were three of us." He carried on, startling her with both his sudden continuation and the revelation that he and Nunnally had not been alone in their trek. "Kururugi Suzaku traveled with us. He couldn't always stomach seeing his own people crushed by Knightmare frames or filled with bullets. I told Nunnally he had a weak stomach. I made fun of his horror at seeing the corpses of other Japanese being devoured by insects and crows. All to keep Nunnally ignorant of the terrible things we had seen. The two of us were ten."

Now Lelouch was the one holding Nina upright, as she nearly lost her ability to stand. Suzaku? The new student who was in the military? He had been with Lelouch and Nunnally through that?

Nina was positively horrified. She knew what happened in wars, people died for their countries and for their beliefs. But she had never truly known what _happened _in war. And hopefully she never would. It was hard enough just hearing what the dark haired boy holding her had gone through, she couldn't imagine going through it herself.

"And after all of that, after ravaging this land and it's people, Britannia stripped them of everything. Their possessions, their homes, their name, and even their culture. Britannia took everything from them and they still fight. Because Japan never truly gave up, even if they had surrendered. The people of this nation are strong willed. It's not just that I want to help the Japanese, but I want _them _to help _me. _I won't stop at freeing Japan." Lelouch moved, gently sitting the shaky Nina on her bed. "It's not the people of Britannia I'm fighting, Nina. It's the ideals. I won't ask you to agree with me, but I hope you understand why I'm doing this. I'm going to change Britannia. Even if I have to tear it to the ground and build it back up again." And he intended to do just that. He would obliterate Britannia. He had promised, after all.

The girl could hardly believe it. How had this meeting turned out this way? After hearing everything he'd said, after seeing how strongly he believed in his words, Nina could actually find herself agreeing with him somewhat.

Nina was xenophobic. New people and new things made her nervous. It was one of the main reasons she had advanced so far scientifically, because she was so utterly comfortable with it. The more she learned the more she understood and the less unfamiliar the subject became to her.

However, she did not hate new people or new things. They simply made her nervous.

Elevens, Japanese. She did not hate them. They made her nervous, scared her. Her only experiences with them for the longest time had been knowing that they had been the ones to kill her mother, and rarely interacting with Sayoko. It would be wrong to hate all of them because of the actions of one group, though. Her mother was a casualty in this war, it wasn't an intentional attack on her. How could she hate Sayoko for something the woman had nothing to do with? Or hate Suzaku when he had been victimized even more than her, having lost a parent and seeing his country in tatters and his people dead and dying?

Britannia had established a military base. It was still new, barely out of construction. Hardly manned. It was a prime target for the remnants of the Japanese military, now known as the Japan Liberation Front. In an all out frontal attack, the base was destroyed and nearly everyone on the base was killed. The base itself was completely and utterly destroyed, with absolutely nothing salvageable left behind. That was when the Japanese had first gained access to the Knightmare Frame's technology.

Despite her inherent fear of the Elevens because of how little she knew of them, Nina did not think they deserved the treatment Britannia gave them. After talking to Suzaku only once, Nina could see he was a genuinely nice person. According to Shirley, he had also risked his safety during the Mass Breach in order to protect the school. He and Sayoko were prime examples that not all Elevens were bad people. Suzaku was an Honorary Britannian in the Britannian military, and Sayoko had been a faithful servant to the Lamperouge siblings since hardly a week after their arrival. Nina didn't know just how badly Suzaku must have been treated, but she knew it couldn't have been pleasant being an Eleven in a sea of Britannian soldiers.

Even in school, he had been given a wide berth. The only ones who had spoken to him were Shirley, Rivalz, and herself. And she had practically been forced into it. He was an outcast.

Just like all the Elevens.

Lelouch was right. What Britannia was doing to these people, to all the people their Empire had conquered, was wrong. It was terrible. But before today she had simply ignored it.

Just like all Britannians were supposed to.

Was it really so easy to completely ignore the suffering of an entire race, when they were seen almost every day? Those few Elevens who had given up their pride in hopes of a better life were still guaranteed to suffer more than prosper. The Honorary Britannian system made it easy to turn a blind eye. After all, all it took was a few signatures and an Eleven was given rights as if they were a Britannian, right? It was their own fault for being so prideful.

But in truth the system was nothing but a false hope. Honorary Britannians were barely citizens at all.

However... Nina had more reasons than just her mother's death to be distrustful of Elevens. The girl was fully aware that her own, limited, experience with them was not something to judge an entire race on. But even so, the negatives she had to associate with them were far more impactful than the positives. First her mother had been taken from her... and then they had hurt her more directly.

Layla Einstein's body had never been found. She was not the only person unaccounted for, however she was the only one that mattered to Nina. Her family had been denied even a proper funeral.

Nina had made a terrible decision, a few years later. She had decided to travel into the Ghettos, to the ruined military base, seeking closure for herself.

She didn't find her closure. What she did find was something that haunted her even today.

"Nina." Lelouch's voice broke her from her thoughts, thankfully. She didn't think anything good could come from dredging up those particular memories again.

"Y-yes?" Nina asked, her indigo eyes meeting his own.

Lelouch was quite torn. After all that, he most certainly did not want to use his Geass to get his mask back and protect his secret. However, he was completely unsure as to where Nina stood on the matter. The best case scenario he could imagine would be for Nina to promise not to turn him in, return his mask, and pretend that this never happened. Worst case scenario would be forcing him into using his Geass on her. With that in mind, Lelouch spoke. His voice remained firm, but soft. "I need my mask back. And I need you to keep this between us."

There it was. The moment of truth.

The bespectacled girl fidgeted at being put on the spot, taking a few silent moments to contemplate. 'He's Zero. He intends to continue fighting. And he wants me to keep his secret.' That boded the question; just how much did Nina resent Zero? He had, so far, killed Prince Clovis after saving the remaining residents of Shinjuku, and rescued an innocent who had been accused of said murder with entirely nonviolent methods. Frankly, Zero had yet to do anything that really hurt her in any way. While Prince Clovis was, well, a prince, Nina didn't know him or care for him, and Kururugi was an innocent man being paraded before a sea of hateful Britannians for the most damning crime Area Eleven had seen.

Her fear of Zero hadn't stemmed from what he had done, though. It had come from just what he _would _do. Knowing Lelouch, and after hearing how passionately he had spoken, Nina could safely say that he fully intended to topple Britannia.

That was a scary thought. But at the same time, it was Lelouch. He had never done anything to hurt her, or the student council in general. And in the end, Nina only really cared about Sayoko, Nunnally, and the council. She had no other friends, her father was extremely distant (she hadn't seen him in months...) and the person she had a slight crush on was standing right in front of her practically declaring war on Britannia. Turning Zero in after all this, when she had been opposed to it from the beginning? Not likely.

Nina nodded to herself, decision made. She smiled at Lelouch, meeting his gaze once more. "This will be our little s-secret."

Her heart fluttered in her chest at the smile she received. "I'm glad."

That "slight crush" wasn't so slight, come to think of it.

* * *

As if he hadn't dealt with enough for one day, though it was technically a new day he realized, Ohgi had decided to call him. At two in the morning.

"Look, Zero. It hasn't gone public yet, but Cornelia's wiped out the Blood of the Samurai group." The man informed him over the phone.

"Understood. Hold tight and lay low, it's not time to act yet." Lelouch replied, leaning against a tree alongside the concrete path.

Ohgi paused for a moment, before continuing. "Zero, I don't want to sound insistent, but the Blood of the Samurai weren't small time. They're not the JLF, but they were some of the closest to them. With them gone, there aren't many other good targets for Cornelia to hit. I'm concerned she'll be coming for us soon."

Lelouch frowned. The man did have a valid point. The Blood of the Samurai group were just under the JLF in terms of raw military might. While they lacked Knightmare Frames, they were not short on much else. Their destruction was a big step for Cornelia.

However... "Ohgi, I need you to trust me. If we make any hasty moves against someone like Cornelia we'll be doomed. This isn't Clovis, an artist playing at being a general. She is a veteran soldier with numerous conquests and victories under her belt. _We _will need to be extremely cautious in dealing with her. So trust me to make the right decision, like you have twice before, and I will." The dark haired boy sighed quietly, leaning further against the tree. How long had it been since he last slept? It was nearing twenty hours he could bet. And he still hadn't gotten around to filling Nunnally in on the ridiculous series of meetings he was having. Not to mention the fact that Anya would likely be showing up at their doorstep some time today, and who knew when Euphemia would turn up. He would at least like to be rested for these things.

Why did he have so many problems to deal with, recently? Callous though it may be, Lelouch was honestly quite glad Cornelia hadn't provided the opening he needed just yet, instead just mowing down other groups. He had so many other things that HAD to be dealt with, he couldn't be sure that adding another huge thing like that wouldn't trip him up.

When Ohgi spoke again, it was with a sort of roguish confidence. "You're right, Zero. I trust you and so does the rest of the group. You'll know when the time is right, and we'll be ready. Just a call away, after all."

Lelouch smiled a bit. He rather liked Ohgi Kaname and his merry band of misfits. "Good man. I'll be sure to let you in when we've got the opening we need. If anything major comes up, be sure to inform me. Zero out." And with that, he hung up.

One good thing about conversing with his partners in crime would be the fact that they often did so in Japanese. So on the off chance, very off as a matter of fact, someone caught any of the conversation, they probably wouldn't understand it.

Except Kallen, Sayoko, Nunnally, Milly, Suzaku, and Reuben. While that may seem like a decent amount of people, it wasn't too difficult to make sure none of them were within earshot. And with Sayoko it didn't matter because she was fully aware of his position as Zero and all that came with it.

Hm. Despite his rather atrocious luck with random meeting lately, he'd hit the jackpot by meeting with this group back in Shinjuku.

Ohgi Kaname was an inherently kind man, who cared for his subordinates. He was intelligent and friendly, enough so that gaining his trust wasn't terribly difficult. And with the trust of the leader, it made gaining the trust of everyone else that much easier. Average to above average knightmare pilot, relatively well practiced.

Kozuki Kallen. A girl his age, quite the looker, and with a dangerous temper. Extremely fun to tease, though hazardous to his health. Her trust in Zero seems to be on par with Ohgi's, and she is a legitimate Ace Knightmare pilot. An extremely precious commodity. Her half Britannian heritage may also make her more accepting if his identity is ever revealed. Though she may attempt to strangle him one way or the other.

Shinichiro Tamaki. Complete and utter imbecile in most cases. Hot headed, foul mouthed, none too bright. He seems to have a bit more faith in Zero than the rest of the group, for the moment. His skill in a Knightmare is second to Kallen's, though he didn't come close to being an ace himself. Definitely above average, and especially so since he had the most experience with the Glasgow the members of their group had learned with. The go-to Pilot before Kallen had joined up with their crew, for whatever reason. Quite proficient with explosives.

Sugiyama Kento. Above average intellect, relatively calm individual. Seems to be in a relationship with one of the group's only female members, Inoue Naomi. Apparently a good cook. Trust in Zero only extends as far as that of the other members. He cares enough about them that he'll put his faith in their decisions. Gaining Ohgi's trust helped in this matter. In terms of Knightmare capability, he ranks third in the group. Unlike Tamaki, however, Sugiyama was a level headed person with a good head on his shoulders. Certainly someone who's word ought to be taken into account.

Moving on from the male half of the equation, there was Inoue Naomi. Also a very intelligent individual, slightly less calm than her significant other. Her trust in Zero is the main reason Sugiyama was willing to put any real faith in him, for the moment. She was quite willing to believe in him, after being shown twice that he wasn't all talk. Her capabilities in a Knightmare were average, though it was clear she was more suited for a different position. However, until they could begin to expand she would have to make due in a KMF.

Yoshida Toru was an interesting case. He was experienced in Knightmare frames, and he had poured a lot of effort into maintaining his knowledge of various KMF's and their capabilities, along with any other military advancements he could find to learn about. While he lacked natural talent in a Knightmare, he made up for it with sheer knowledge of exactly what any given frame is capable of, save those that were unknown such as the Lancelot. However, his analytical ability was superb even when dealing with complete unknowns. From a short glance at the Lancelot he had been able to accurately guess most of it's abilities, as well as point out that the pilot seemed to be injured due to slight shifts in performance during the short battle. A very interesting person, indeed. However, his trust in Zero went only as far as Ohgi's orders. Zero had yet to earn this man's trust, though he did have his respect. It was a start.

And finally, Minami Yoshitaka. He was... well, normal. Very much so. Aside from his unusual hair color, a dark purple, everything about this man screamed "average". And that in and of itself was terribly intriguing. The type of "normal" that Minami radiated was the same type of "normal" Sayoko had, he wouldn't have noticed it if not for the fact that he had learned a few things from the woman. He wasn't sure quite how similar the two of them were, however it seemed likely that Minami Yoshitaka was skilled in the ways of espionage. And he wasn't bad in a Knightmare, either. His trust in Zero seemed to be inbetween Sugiyama and Inoue.

All in all, Lelouch could say he had picked up quite the interesting group of accomplices.

And speaking of accomplices, his mind drifted to yet another person who had that title.

C.C. was an enigma. At times she would be helpful, and others she would go out of her way to be a pain in his ass. Worse, she was always attempting to mess with his head through constant use of her undeniable attractiveness. It was rather annoying, to say the least. And they were sharing a bed, so waking up each morning with a beautiful women strewn over him was a common occurrence. He had never thought that would be a problem he'd have, what with his normal attitude towards the fairer sex.

The witch had certainly blown that particular expectation out of the water. However, despite her relentless teasing she had done several things to help him. First and foremost, she had taken a bullet for him. Literally. Despite her inability to die, she had thrown herself in front of him and saved his life. Definitely a plus for her. And then there was his power. While he would have to be extremely careful with it, due to his lack of knowledge, it was probably his most powerful weapon. The ability to bend someone's will so completely that they would ignore self preservation instinct and kill themselves, with a smile, was absolutely astounding.

Even more so, the witch had actually warned him to be careful of overusing his power. While she hadn't been specific, just the warning itself was helpful since it had come at a time when he was debating whether or not to be extremely conservative with his use of Geass.

Finally, there was the fact that she was absolutely gorgeous. He was still a warm blooded teen, after all, and he certainly knew how to appreciate a beautiful woman.

Lelouch chuckled, pushing himself off of the tree he had been leaning against. He looked at his phone to check the time, grimacing as he realized it was nearly three in the morning. "Looks like I'm going to be sleeping in." He noted.

What? Milly had given the council a break from the mountains of paperwork since most of it had been done on day one. While Rivalz, Milly, and Shirley could do whatever it was they did on days off, Lelouch had a feeling he and Nina would both be catching up on their sleep.

... Provided, of course, a certain Witch didn't make it difficult for him. He had noted a peculiar gleam in her eye just as he left his room, earlier.

"Lelouch? What are you doing out here at this hour?" A voice called, drawing his attention. Speaking of the devil, here was Milly in all of her mischievous glory. Though... she seemed somewhat different. Less chipper, more subdued. It was odd. And worrying.

He blinked. "I could ask the same of you, couldn't I Madame President?" And indeed he could. It was quite unlike Milly to be out and about at this time in the morning. Even more worrisome.

The buxom blond allowed herself a brief chuckle. "Guilty as charged. I'm just... thinking about something."

Some people may have left it at that, but those people weren't the kind who knew Milly Ashford as well as he did. In this case, thinking meant worrying and Milly Ashford was not one to worry about things. That was left to Nina and Lelouch. "Milly, what are you worried about? It's not like you to let little things get to you." Which, of course, meant that this was not something little. As a matter of fact, it had to be something big in order to keep Milly up thinking about it.

A sad sigh slipped from her lips, before she spoke up again. "My parents are trying to marry me off again... but I don't think I can get out of it this time, Lelouch." Milly wrapped her arms around herself, doing nothing to hide the worry in her expression.

Lelouch almost found himself growling in anger. This was one aspect of Milly's parents that he utterly loathed. They didn't care about their daughter, just what she could do for them. After the Ashford's fall from grace with his mother's death, they had been attempting to marry Milly off to any man with some status to his name. Up until now, Milly had been able to scare them off through various pranks and other embarrassing mishaps during their first meeting.

However, now she seemed genuinely worried. Just who could they be trying to hitch her with that she wasn't confident in her ability to drive them off?

Suppressing his anger with his friend's parents, Lelouch moved over to the girl and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Just who is it that they're trying to marry you off to this time, Milly?" He asked. There weren't many people who came to mind.

"Earl Lloyd Asplund." She replied, frowning up at him. "He's... odd. Very odd. I honestly don't know what I could do that would scare away someone who's called the Emperor "Charlie" to his face." Because, seriously, what do you to someone who just smiled through a glare from one of the most powerful men in the world? People had been executed for less, and yet this man had been both audacious enough to say that to the Emperor and entirely calm after doing so.

Lelouch blanched. Lloyd Asplund? As in Suzaku's boss, the scientist responsible for the Lancelot? ... And what was that about calling the emperor Charlie? The dark haired boy sighed. "That is... odd. I've met the man before."

It was Milly's turn to be shocked. "You have? Where did you meet him? I haven't even met the man in person yet." All she had on him was the research she had done, which she had done and nearly every noble in Area Eleven, that told her quite blatantly that this man was insane. With his position as the head of a special research division, funded and backed by Prince Schneizel himself, Lloyd only interacted with a very specific type of people. Namely, anyone who could help further his research on his experimental Knightmare Frame, the Lancelot.

Hearing that Lelouch had met him at all was a complete curveball.

The boy himself gave a rather nervous chuckle. "I met him a few days ago. After I'd heard about what happened in Shinjuku, I wanted to visit the makeshift memorial the locals had built. I... just felt like I had to see the damage we had caused to that place for the second time." While that hadn't been his actual inspiration for visiting the ghetto in the first place, it had been why he stayed. A partial truth. "Long story short, I found Suzaku and he was unknowingly escorting Euphemia li Britannia around the settlement. She had demanded he take her to the ghetto for similar reasons to me..."

Milly's eyes went wide. "You were found out!?" She whispered frantically. "Please tell me she didn't find out you're alive!"

He rolled his eyes, placing his hands on her shoulders. "She did. It's fine. She's in on the secret now, too. And due to circumstances, so are Lloyd Asplund and his assistant Cecile Croomy, who are both under oath not to breath a word of it to anyone." This wasn't about him, though, it was about her. And he told her as much a few moments later, after she had freaked out sufficiently. "Back on topic. He seems like the kind of man who wouldn't be interested in relationships. What could your parents have possibly offered that a man like him would actually want..." He trailed off as realization hit him. Lloyd Asplund was the leading expert on all things Knightmare related. You could bet that if there was some sort of Britannian KMF prototype, Lloyd Asplund had something to do with it. The Ashfords had once been in that spot, having developed... "The Ganymede." He noted aloud.

Blue eyes went wide. "Right..." It made sense, after all. The Ganymede was, essentially, the first Knightmare frame to hit the battlefield. It came from a time when the Knightmare frame wasn't a mass production weapon. While the frame itself was outdated, now, someone like Lloyd would want to tinker with it just because he could. But still... "That doesn't really help me get out of this, Lelouch. And you can let go of my shoulders now."

Lelouch did so, sheepishly. "Sorry. I can get you out of this mess. I'll just need to talk to Earl Asplund." In actuality, while the Ganymede was housed in Ashford's facilities, it wasn't quite theirs anymore. Ownership of the Knightmare frame Ganymede was in the hands of Reuben Ashford, specifically. At least, it was. But then the man had given it to him.

It had been his mother's Knightmare, and after Reuben had given him the keys one day and declared it his, Lelouch had begun learning how to pilot it. The controls were actually more complicated than those of the more recent Sutherlands and Gloucesters, while still retaining a similar feel. That was one reason he actually knew how to pilot the Sutherland he had stolen from Villeta Nu back in Shinjuku. The entire point of mass producing Knightmares was to make them simple enough for your average soldier to use with a bit of training, whereas the Ganymede's controls were complicated just because of how much it took to make the thing work.

Apparently Reuben had never gotten around to telling his son-in-law about the fact that the Ganymede was no longer in legal possession of the Ashfords, so they had attempted to use it as a bartering tool. Whoops.

So after informing the man that the Ganymede wasn't in the possession of the Ashford Family, he would likely lose interest and call the whole thing off.

A few seconds later, Lelouch noticed that Milly hadn't said anything at all despite his assurance that he would be able to save her from an unwanted marriage. He made to say something, but whatever he was going to say was cut off as his oldest friend glomped him. "Thanks so much, Lelouch!" She exclaimed, holding him tightly. "I've been worrying over this for the past four days, you don't know how good it feels to have this off my shoulders! Milly Ashford remains single!" A grin found it's way onto her face, and she sent him a saucy wink. "Unless, of course, you want to dispute that? Hmmm, _Lu~lu?_"

He allowed himself a small smirk, deciding to go along with her teasing for the moment. One of his hands found the small of her back, pulling her closer to him, while the other reached up and lifted her chin so that they were looking eye-to-eye. "And what if I do, Madame President?" Lelouch practically purred, his grin widening as he felt her shiver. "What would you do about it?"

Milly's cheeks were tinged pink, though her grin was still in place. "At the rate we're going? I'd probably ask you to be gentle." Noting that her reply seemed to have caught him off guard, Milly grinned wider and continued. "I mean, we are right by a pretty wooded area. Just a few minutes walking and we may not have to worry about me being too loud." That also got her a reaction, judging by the pink on his cheeks and the slightly wide eyes. Deciding to throw another one at him, Milly made a show of licking her lips. "To be honest, I always wanted my first time to be outside. Under the stars, it'd be so romantic. Care to make a girl's wish come true?"

Lelouch recovered adamantly, though it was quite obvious that thoughts of the two of them together were floating around in his head, and shifted so that she was pressed up against the tree he had been leaning against. "Maybe I will." He replied, his hands on either side of Milly's head as he leaned his face in until they were nose to nose. "Just think of all the things I could do to get back at you for all these years of teasing me, Madame President. I can just imagine it now, you panting out my name in short gasps as I sent you into a world of pleasure." Their foreheads were touching now. "Doesn't that sound wonderful?"

The buxom blonde was having a hard time believing this. Generally, Lelouch would fold first. Now he had continued on and Milly wasn't quite sure she wanted to stop him.

Their usual routine would involve Milly teasing Lelouch, Lelouch either teasing back or deciding to ignore her entirely, and if he did tease her back Milly would throw out another sentence or two, perhaps a lewd gesture, and then he would give up.

But for the first time, Lelouch had come out on top in one of their games. He grinned widely after a few moments of silence from the flustered blonde.

"I win." The boy noted cheerfully, rather pleased with himself for actually managing to render Milly Ashford speechless.

Said girl pouted. "Enjoy it while it lasts, Lelouch. It looks like I'll need to up my game from now on. When did you even get good at this?"

Smile growing even wider, Lelouch shrugged. "Secret." He replied, chuckling at the annoyed glare he received in response. "What? Did you expect me to give you a story about how I learned everything I knew from an experienced courtesan?"

Milly giggled. "I doubt you'd even have the stamina to keep up with an experienced courtesan."

His smile dropped to a frown instantly.

Sometimes, it seemed like he could never just win.

* * *

After a particularly long day, Lelouch finally made it back to his room and, more importantly, his bed for some well deserved rest.

Thankfully, despite the peculiar look he had received from C.C. she hadn't attempted to bother him and simply let him sleep off his fatigue.

It was now around one in the afternoon, and Lelouch was just beginning to wake up.

In his bleary state of mind, Lelouch hardly noticed the other presence in his bed. It was probably C.C., nothing new there. He rolled over, one eye peeking open to inspect the green haired witch he shared a bed with.

What he saw was not what he had been expecting. First of all, rather than green hair he saw pink. That immediately raised alarm bells in the teen's mind. Further alarming him was the fact that a pair of ruby eyes were dully staring into his own, now wide open, violet eyes.

"You're awake." Anya noted simply.

"Yes... and you're in my bed." Lelouch replied, trying to keep calm. Anya was in his room. Where was C.C.?

"Nunna asked me to wake you up." The apathetic pinkette replied. And she hadn't really cared for the idea of shaking him awake. Maybe poking his cheek until he woke up would have worked. Ah well, this was what she had done and it worked.

Lelouch blanched. "So you crawl into bed with me?" This girl was such an oddball. Did she know anything about personal space? Obviously not seeing as how she was blatantly invading his own. They were inches apart at the moment.

"You woke up." She pointed out. Clearly she saw nothing wrong with this.

He sighed. Arguing about how this was not the most effective way to wake someone up would not get him anywhere, he realized. "Right..."

"Nunna wants to have lunch with us." Anya informed him, rolling out of his bed.

Lelouch followed after a moment, standing in nothing but a pair of pants and glancing around his room, trying to figure out where C.C. had gone.

While he was busy looking at anything but Anya, she herself was looking at him almost exclusively. A small blush, almost unnoticeable, came to her cheeks as she inspected the unsuspecting Lelouch.

'Why is my face getting warm?' She pondered, this particular reaction being completely new to her. In addition to her face warming up, she could feel her heart beating a little faster. Anya shook her head after a moment, calming herself down.

Or, rather, trying to. She didn't quite know how to calm herself down seeing as how she had never been excited before.

What in the world was Lelouch doing to have this effect on her? It was so strange.

"Anya." The voice of the boy in question brought her out of her musings, and Anya looked over at him.

"Yes?" She asked, noting his rather pointed look.

"I'm trying to change. Do you mind?" He asked, nodding towards the door.

"Not really. Go ahead." Anya answered, head tilted slightly.

Lelouch blushed brightly. "Just... just leave the room, please?"

"Okay." Anya answered, walking out of the room a moment later.

He sighed. Something was wrong with that girl. Aside from the obvious lack of emotion, she also lacked any form of tact whatsoever. So much for those etiquette lessons from his mother.

Lelouch suppressed an amused snort. Honestly, who the hell thought giving his mother a young and impressionable girl to teach was a good idea? Nunnally had been enough of a terror in her younger years.

The thoughts of fonder days soon spiraled downwards. He had always complained about how hard it was to look after Nunnally as a child, what with her running off and causing mischief. But he was her big brother, so he had to look out for her and put up with her silly antics.

If he could go back now, he would never have complained about her wild behavior. That part of his little sister had practically died the day their mother had been gunned down.

He never knew just how much he would miss the chaos she brought to his life.

Britannian medical science was the best in the world. But they could do nothing for his little sister's legs, or her inability to open her eyes.

Maybe one day, they would advance enough for her to walk again, open her eyes once more.

Hopefully by then he would have created the gentler world she deserved.

But for now, he would change his clothes, go downstairs, and have lunch with his little sister and an old friend from his childhood.

Soon Cornelia would give the opening he needed to make his move.

He would be ready. Once she gave him his opening, he would take it. He would start his journey towards building a gentler world for Nunnally in earnest. He would topple Britannia and it's corruption.

Things were going to be a lot more hectic, soon.

And so he would take this chance to relax and savor it, because it may be the last chance he'll have in a long time.

* * *

And we're done for the moment! Woo!

So, Nina has calmed down and agreed to keep Lelouch's secret. Remember, since Kawaguchi/Euphemia and all that hasn't come along yet she's got no reason to overly favor Britannia or overly despise Zero. That would make her a lot more neutral towards the whole issue, especially if she learned that Lelouch was Zero from the get-go.

I never did quite understand why they had such a blatantly obvious chance to reveal Lelouch's identity to someone from Ashford (Milly, Rivalz, Shirley, Nina, any of them would have been interesting to see with knowledge of Zero's identity. Mainly Rivalz and, of course, Nina because neither of them really got much development in the series. Aside from Nina going ballistic several times and masturbating to pictures of Euphemia.) but they didn't take it. It kinda felt like the whole cat-stealing a mask thing was kinda pointless.

I mean, yeah, it introduced Arthur but that's about it.

Anyhow, very little on the other characters this chapter. A chance for Lelouch to meet up with Lloyd and the interesting bits that can follow from that, along with getting Milly out of an undesirable situation.

And Anya being...

well...

Anya.

I just love Anya. She's so amusing with her completely lackadaisical responses and statements, not to mention her complete disregard for common sense. I mean, really, bring the fucking MORDRED to a friendly little event? Sent the whole area into defcon three or whatever. I fell out of my chair laughing at that scene.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer:

Woo! Hurray for not owning anything of value!

On that note, I wish I still had my old Greymon plushy. Cannot find it. Sadness. So much sadness.

C.C.: Poor dear. I'd be devastated if I lost Cheese-kun. *She cuddles said doll closely.*

Lelouch:*A sinister smirk appears on his lips, unseen by anyone.* Really now...

* * *

Lunch had ended without any fuss, thankfully. Sayoko's cooking was divine as per the norm, idle chatter between Nunnally and Anya ensued with Nunnally trying her hardest to get Anya to take an active role in the conversation as opposed to her normal reactive role.

Needless to say, his darling little sister's face was scrunched up in frustration by this point. Whenever she asked Anya about something open ended, the girl would give a very brief reply before sending the ball back into Nunnally's court so to speak.

"Hmmm..." Nunnally hummed, attempting to think of something that Anya wouldn't be able to answer in a few words. She was, of course, unable to find any guaranteed way to get the desired result. "Do you have any friends in the military, Anya?" She eventually settled for a simple question that could lead to a better opportunity to get Anya talking.

"Gino. And Hyokkomon." Anya replied, before gesturing over towards the floating form of her digital companion. "And Missimon."

Seeing the opportunity present itself, Nunnally jumped on it. "Oh! Tell us about them." Finally, something Anya couldn't reasonably answer in only a few words.

"Gino is nice. Hyokkomon is strange. Missimon is..." Anya trailed off, moving to glance at her partner. "My partner."

Anya was not someone who was good at putting words to feelings, considering she hardly knew what feelings were. Just calling Missimon her "partner" meant a lot more than it may seem at first glance.

Missimon had been by her side for years now. And he was always by her side. He had been her constant companion, through anything that she had done. The bond between them was something she just couldn't adequately describe with words.

But it didn't need to be described by words. Missimon had always known how much he meant to Anya. She meant just as much to him. They were partners, for as long as they both lived.

While Missimon simply felt the meaning behind her description, Lelouch could tell a different way.

Anya's eyes seemed to light up, losing their dull gaze for a brief moment, as she glanced towards her digital companion. In that brief moment, Lelouch could practically see the myriad of emotions trapped behind those ruby eyes.

If he were to be honest, it somewhat unnerved him. Lelouch was very good at reading people, based upon various tells he could pick up on to associate with certain moods and so on.

He had heard of "the eyes being windows to the soul", and all that. How sometimes, people could read you just by staring into your eyes as though it revealed your true intentions. On some level, he supposed, it was true. Looking into someone's eyes could give a major hint as to how they feel.

What he had seen just then was something so much more. Just a glance into her eyes hadn't shown him any hints, no, he was certain beyond any shadow of a doubt that he knew exactly how Anya felt towards Missimon.

That was not normal. At all. Never before had he been able to do that. That was more along Nunnally's particular skillset.

Nunnally could tell a lot just by taking a person's hand in her own. It was very surprising just how accurately she could judge someone's character just by the simplest of touches.

Lelouch had never gained that particular ability. No, rather than simply _knowing _like his little sister, Lelouch had to carefully inspect and break down every little thing about a person in order to get an accurate read on their character. He took everything from their stance, to their speech patterns, to their body language, and carefully broke it down into data and translated it all into usable data to accurately determine personality. More often than not, he was right in his own inspections and judgement of character, but sometimes it was tinted by suspicion and thusly biased against the subject. Or perhaps the opposite.

What this is to say, is that his ability to judge character was nowhere near flawless. At no point in time did he simply _know _someone's feelings without them telling him or otherwise making it apparent. Nunnally could do that.

He couldn't. But just now, he had. He knew without a single doubt in his mind and it made him uncomfortable since the only person this had ever happened with was a pink haired girl he hadn't seen in years.

He'd heard of people growing so close over the years that they could tell what was on the other's mind with relative ease. Lelouch had that kind of bond with Milly, sometimes he just knew how she was feeling on an empathetic level.

And now apparently he had that type of bond with Anya, because she was basically an open book to him. It was really quite concerning considering that she had been out of his life for seven years and had just reentered it.

But still, the atmosphere was comfortable. Anya and Nunnally were still going back and forth, with Nunnally trying her hardest to get Anya talking. Sayoko was simply looking over the whole ordeal with a smile, seemingly happy just to see Nunnally so happy. Perhaps him, too. Sayoko was good at guessing his feelings.

Lelouch himself was smiling a small smile, one hand propping up his head as he looked between the two girls. Just looking at them, he could tell both were extremely happy. His little sister was positively ecstatic to see her old friend, and even more so after being told that their secret was safe with no strings attached. In addition to that, Lelouch had told her about Suzaku and she had promptly demanded that he get the brown haired boy to visit them at his first opportunity.

It was so nice, peaceful. This was something he had lost seven years ago, just watching his sister interact with the girl who had practically become another sister to them at one point.

When they had been sent to Japan at first, the hardest thing to get used to for his little sister had been the fact that Anya didn't live with them anymore. While she had missed Euphemia, Cornelia, Clovis, and Schneizel, none of them had actually lived with them in the Aries villa. She loved them dearly, but they didn't often end up sneaking into the same bedroom to sleep.

That bedroom, of course, being his. He had lost track of the amount of times he had woken up with his arms trapped beneath the two of them.

Anya had been a constant presence in their home for a time. While her time with them had been just under a year and a half, she had been intended to stay for two and a half years with them.

Her parents, in addition to wanting her to learn etiquette, or perhaps in place of that considering just who his mother had been, had wanted Anya to have a relatively normal family life. Both her mother and father had been extremely busy people, with very little time on their hands for their daughter.

The Alstreim's had managed to make friends with his mother at one point. During a chat with them, his mother had heard of their daughter's situation and had offered to give her etiquette lessons, while allowing her to stay with their family.

Looking back on it now, Lelouch realized that the lessons had probably just been a front so that his mother had an excuse to give Anya a bit of a normal family upbringing as opposed to being raised by hired caretakers and the like. It would be like her, after all. His mother had been a kind woman, always trying to help others if she could. He had admired that about her, perhaps that was where his own desire to help people originated.

He wondered just how life for Anya must have been, after his mother's assassination. From what he was aware of, her own parents had been killed in an accident hardly a year after his mother. Details on it were sketchy, at best, but he knew she had been practically alone.

Sure, the family's funds had gone directly to her, and the servants had been around to cater to her every need, but she had been alone. Lelouch would be the first to admit that it sounded like a terrible fate.

To have your closest friends and your idol ripped from you in one night, and then learning of the demise of the only two family members you had left just a year later... it had to have been hard on her.

According to Anya, her memory loss had begun on the night of his mother's death. However, over the years, it had gotten progressively worse. Perhaps living the way she had for so long had more negative effects than he had originally suspected.

Despite the fact that Lelouch had little to no trouble reading Anya's moods now, for whatever reason, he could easily tell that she was far from that energetic, if somewhat shy, little girl that had been brought to the Aries villa so long ago.

* * *

_The Aries villa had a beautiful garden, a young Lelouch noted not for the first time. It was simply breathtaking, nearly each and every time he saw it. He knew every nook and cranny of this wonderful haven like the back of his hands, and was using that knowledge for a very specific purpose on this day._

_To find his terror of a younger sister. As much as he loved her, and no one would dare argue to him that he didn't love his little sister, even he could be annoyed at times by her antics._

_Especially when said antics involved him having to chase her down, something his young body was just not made for. And so in order to cope with his inability to simply catch Nunnally, Lelouch had completely mapped out the Aries Villa, specifically the garden, in his head. Every little detail was taken into consideration when he created his mental map, from what types of flowers populated the area to how high the tallest tree was, and he used that to generate a rough estimate of how likely it was for Nunnally to be in any given area based on her own likes and dislikes._

_So any place with high trees and suitably colorful flowers ranked highest, with the dark leafy forest area ranking next. And within each of those areas, he further generate a more accurate estimate of his little sister's location based mainly on where he had found her previously. She would no doubt be in an area different than those he had found her in in the past week, narrowing down his choices even more._

_And as with any calculations made by Lelouch, these allowed him to accomplish his goal with relative ease, locating Nunnally seated happily beneath a tree, surrounded on all sides by a myriad of colorful flowers. Beside her sat the newest resident of their home, Anya Alstreim, who was looking over Nunnally's handiwork with silent appreciation._

_The pink haired girl raised her phone, a pink device with a flip top, and took a picture of the flower crown his sister made. "It's pretty, Nunna."_

_As with any other praise she received, Nunnally beamed towards her newest friend. "Really? Thanks! Here, put it on!" She excitedly pushed the flower crown towards Anya, who accepted it carefully after setting her phone down even more carefully._

_The pinkette slipped the crown onto her head, realizing that Nunnally had probably intended to put it on her in the first place due to the fact that all of the flowers were pink. Nunnally herself would likely have used yellows and pinks, but Anya didn't really like yellow that much._

_Nunnally clapped happily, looking Anya over. "You look even prettier now, Anya!" She announced with no small amount of certainty._

_Said girl blushed at the compliment, obviously unused to interacting with people her age. "T-thank you."_

_It was then that Lelouch made himself known, striding into the little clearing with his usual grace. "So that's where you got off to this time." He noted, giving his little sister a false chiding look. "You do know you're not supposed to go running off without me, right? You could hurt yourself." Despite saying this, his voice held no real intent. He knew she would just ignore him anyway._

_Nunnally would be having none of that anyway. "Hmph! You're too slow, big brother! If we waited on you we'd never even get here!"_

_Ouch. That one had injured his pride quite a bit. "Obviously that's not the case, since I'm here right now." Ignoring the fact that it had taken him half an hour to get there while they had likely taken ten minutes or less, and only partially because he was making an educated guess as to where they were._

_He looked over towards Anya, who had sunken in on herself slightly after he arrived. From the looks of it, she actually thought they were in some sort of trouble. Lelouch nearly snorted at that. Nunnally? In trouble? And from her big brother no less? That was a good one, perhaps he'd tell it to Clovis next time he beat him at chess to lighten his mood._

_But, still, Anya was new around these parts and probably didn't realize that his scowl was just for show. May as well clear up the illusion now, it wouldn't do for their new resident to be afraid of him. "Anya, you're not in trouble. Don't worry."_

_She looked up at him, seemingly shocked. "B-but... you said we weren't supposed to go ahead..." The girl replied, paraphrasing his earlier statement._

_Lelouch rolled his eyes. "And you're not. But I knew Nunnally would. She always does. So I've stopped even bothering." He glanced over at his sister, who was sticking her tongue out at him cutely, before turning his gaze back to the other girl. "And now that she has a partner in crime, I'm going to bother even less with trying to get her to follow the rules. She'll be too busy trying to corrupt you to even pay attention to me." The prince allowed himself a brief snicker when he noticed the pinkette glance warily at his grinning sister, before scooting a few inches away from her. "So, flower crowns?" He asked, glancing pointedly at the interlocked flowers atop Anya's head._

_"Yes! They're so pretty!" Came the enthusiastic reply he had expected from his sibling._

_"U-uh huh. They're nice." Was the, also as expected, reply from Anya._

_It had only been a few days since she had arrived, and this was pretty much her first day actually dealing with Nunnally's brand of mischief. She'd be up to speed in no time, and then he'd have two terrors to keep an eye on._

_Lelouch could only imagine the horrors they could unleash if they began working separately rather than the duo he was dearly hoping they become. Between balancing his own mischief with Clovis, his studies, and keeping his dear little sister occupied his schedule was pretty much full. He couldn't imagine having to deal with another Nunnally, his poor brain would overload from stress._

_Until then, Lelouch would take solace in the docility of the young girl before him. It wouldn't last long, but he would cherish it for sure. With this in mind, he made his way over to the two of them and took a seat of his own, idly reaching out for one of the many flowers scattered around the immediate area._

_"You're going to make flower crowns too, big brother?" Nunnally asked, eyes wide in wonderment. Her big brother was actually going to make pretty flower crowns with them? He usually only did boring things like play chess or read. Lelouch was certain those thoughts were going through her mind._

_Lelouch smiled back at her warmly. "Yes, I am. Or are boys not allowed to?" He inquired, weaving the small purple flowers together with one another until he had what vaguely resembled a violet jewel._

_Nunnally gave him a skeptical glance. "I thought Clovis was the only boy who could make pretty things."_

_He gave her a dead-pan look. "I take that as a challenge, Nunnally." And with that, he returned to his work._

_Off to his side, Anya was looking at him intently, watching as his fingers deftly worked the stems of the surrounding flowers into the framework for a crown. Soon enough, he had a flower crown with several dandelions decorating it's sides, and a mock gemstone in the form of the several small flowers he had worked together originally._

_For something that had just been put together at a moments notice, the girls couldn't help but feel it was extremely pretty. The way the dandelions had been arranged made it look like there were no stems holding the crown together, just the pretty flowers of the weed lined up side by side. And, of course, the bunch of tiny violet flowers all woven together into an imitation jewel made it look beautiful, to their young minds. Just because Lelouch wasn't an artist did not mean he didn't have the ability to be one._

_After placing the crown atop his little sister's head, Lelouch spotted the tiniest flash of jealousy in the pink haired girl. Unseen by either girl, he rolled his eyes before deciding upon a way to include Anya in the fun._

_"Anya, since Nunnally made you a crown and I made Nunnally a crown, how about you make me one? I'm feeling left out." Lelouch smiled warmly at the girl as he said this, seeing her blink in surprise._

_It seemed as though the girl had thought she would just be left out now that he had arrived and Nunnally had her beloved big brother to play with. He certainly couldn't allow that, now could he?_

_After a few minutes of fiddling with various flowers scattered about the area, Anya had managed to put together a flower crown as well. It was clear that she had never done this before, judging by how she clumsily threaded the stems together. For a beginner, her crown turned out very well._

_She presented the crown to him, looking anywhere but at him as she did so, and blushed as he took the crown and settled it atop his head. "How do I look?" Lelouch asked, smiling brightly towards the two of them._

_"Big brother looks pretty!" Nunnally exclaimed, her smile even brighter than his own._

_"It's nice..." Anya was much more tame in her response, though her own lips were tilted upwards._

_After that day, it all just fell into place._

* * *

It really had been a long time. After being shipped off to Japan all those years ago, Lelouch had nearly forgotten about her. No, not so much forgotten as it was that he realized they would likely never meet again.

With the rest of his siblings, there was always the chance they would meet again if he failed and they were found. Even in that worst case scenario, however, they would likely never have met Anya again.

But then she had gone and become Knight of Six. That had changed things somewhat. If they were found in hiding after all these years, they might have been able to see Anya again.

Of course, that was a moot point now that the girl had managed to find her way to Area Eleven.

A sudden ringing interrupted the peace, originating from Anya herself. After a moment, it became clear that her phone was ringing. Anya blinked, before flipping the top of her phone up and answering the call with a lackluster "Hello."

Moments later, Anya closed the phone and looked over the table towards them. "Princess Cornelia needs me for an operation to purge Saitama ghetto in three hours." She informed them, as if she was talking about the weather.

Lelouch practically choked, and Nunnally gasped loudly. Missimon palmed his face. "Anya, you probably shouldn't have said that..." He chided, clearly worried that blatantly admitting that you would have part in a racial purge would adversely effect her friendship. Not to mention the fact that it was probably classified information in the first place. Common sense was not her strongest point.

Anya herself didn't seem to realize that, though. "Sorry, but I need to leave now."

With that, she stood up and left with Missimon in tow.

The mind of our resident genius was working quickly. 'Saitama Ghetto, purged? Shit. I've got three hours to work with. I need to call Ohgi, this is our opening!' Those were the thoughts that ran through his head as he calmly stood, glancing at Sayoko for a moment and sending her a reassuring smile. "I just remembered, I need to speak with Rivalz about something. I'll be back in a bit!" And with that hastily thought up excuse, he was off. He'd need to visit Rivalz on his way back to get him to go along with the story, but that was fine. He'd been meaning to speak with Rivalz about the giant insect digimon that had appeared anyway.

Lelouch quickly looked himself over, as he made his way back to his room. 'I just need to pick up my Zero outfit and my gun.' He had obviously not bothered to take either with him while dining. Tsumemon's bag was slung over his shoulders as usual, with said Digimon lounging about within. "Tsumemon." Lelouch called lightly, getting the attention of his partner. "Get ready. This is the big one."

"I got'cha. I'm fully rested and ready to go, Lelouch." Tsumemon confirmed.

"Good." He replied, just as he opened the door to his room.

C.C. looked up from her position on his bed, blinking once. "You seem to be in a hurry. Something wrong?" She asked, looking him over. It seemed she had been checking off another box on that card of hers. What was the reward for that again? A doll or something.

"Cornelia intends to purge Saitama Ghetto. I'm going to stop her." Lelouch replied, throwing open his closet and retrieving the case that held Zero's costume.

Now all he needed was his...

Click.

... gun. Which was in his nightstand. Which was directly beside his bed. Where C.C. was.

"I can't let you get yourself killed doing this, Lelouch. This is the first time since Shinjuku, and the second time ever, that a Ghetto in Area Eleven is set to be purged. It's obviously a trap." C.C. explained, pointing his own gun at him. Surely he had to realize this was a trap.

Lelouch frowned, turning to face her. "Notice that what you're saying and what you're doing seem to conflict with one another." He noted, stone faced. Yes, he did realize it was a trap. Of course he did. That wasn't going to deter him, though.

She smiled lightly. "I don't intend to kill you. I'll just shoot you in the leg to quiet you down." Her smile disappeared as he pulled a knife from his sleeve, taking aim at her head. "You and I both know that won't kill me, and I can pull the trigger either way. What will that accomplish other than getting more blood on your carpet?" Had he really forgotten that she had taken a bullet to the head and gotten back up?

He grinned widely. "It'll accomplish what I need it to." And with that, the boy flipped the knife into a reverse grip and held it to his own neck.

C.C.'s eyes widened. "You wouldn't." But she knew, by the look in his eye, he meant it. This was not a bluff.

"Every day." He began, knife firmly in hand. "I'd been living this worthless life of mine, gradually sinking further and further into this society I despise so much. I've been in hiding for the past seven years, always having to be cautious, always festering with a burning desire to accomplish something. I wanted to destroy this nation. I still do. But it can wait." Lelouch allowed himself a deep, calming breath after bringing up his promise to Suzaku, seven years before. "Now I fully intend to free Japan or die trying. And from there, I'll continue to oppose Britannia or die trying. And once I've finally erased this corrupt nation and built it anew, I'll turn to the rest of the world. I have the power to do this now." He paused, glancing pointedly at her. "Before, during these past seven years, I've lived lie after lie. My life has been meaningless, every day I simply went through the motions of living without truly experiencing it. A life like that... without meaning... is no life at all." His eyes met her own, cold amethyst matching her own steadily weakening amber gaze. "But then you gave me that power, the power to bend other's will to my own. With that, and with Keramon by my side, I will be victorious today. Or..." His knife inched closer to his throat, the cool metal pressing ever so slightly on the soft skin. "I. Will. Die. Trying."

"Enough!" C.C. shouted, throwing the gun down. "Just.. just go. But try not to die. This is serious, Lelouch. Cornelia is not Clovis, she will not be easily defeated. Overconfidence will get you killed, and then who will take care of your sister?" She nearly pleaded.

Lelouch smiled reassuringly at her, walking over to her. "I will stay alive, C.C.. Cornelia is a powerful adversary, but I will be victorious today." He knelt down, retrieving the fallen weapon. "Thank you for your concern." He finished, tucking the gun into his jacket.

With that, he picked up the case containing his costume and set off under the watchful gaze of the green haired witch.

"A life without meaning, huh..." She whispered, shaking her head. "I've been chasing death for so long I guess I didn't notice myself die."

* * *

"Something happen, Zero?" Ohgi asked, announcing the name of their benefactor loudly enough to capture the attention of the rest of his group.

The entire group was present at the moment, even Kallen since school had been canceled for the week and she despised remaining at home for extended periods of time, and their attention quickly shifted from whatever they had been doing previously.

Ohgi's eyes suddenly went wide, a brief shout of "What!" escaping his lips. "Cornelia intends to purge Saitama!? Not just launch an offensive, but actually PURGE?" Surely they wouldn't purge an entire ghetto just to eliminate the terrorists hiding within, right? The Yamato Alliance wasn't even that large of a group, most of the Saitama residents were civilians.

Generally, when dealing with terrorists cells using the ghettos as their base of operations, the military would send out sentries to seek out likely hiding places. Then, there would be groups searching each prospective area for traces of life or recent use. If any were found, they would assault the location, wiping out or driving back the hiding rebels.

This method, in theory, would have little to no civilian casualties. In reality, the casualties amounted to anyone who didn't give the sentries the answer they were looking for, anyone who was found in one of the prospective hideouts, and anything that moved during an assault. Britannians typically didn't give a damn if Elevens were slaughtered by the droves, though they didn't go out of their way to publicly announce it or actively target them

Somehow, Zero had learned of an honest-to-god PURGE of Saitama Ghetto. That was a terrifying thought. Shinjuku was ordered to be purged due to their hiding out within the ghetto while stealing the poisonous gas Clovis had been harboring.

Saitama was set for a purge just because Cornelia was too impatient to use the typical method, it seemed. But, when he mentioned that to Zero...

"Ohgi, do not believe for even a second that this is simply Cornelia being impatient. She is doing this to lure me out into the open, but in doing so she has given me the opening I need." A brief pause, and a low sigh echoed over the phone. "In addition to that, I simply cannot allow her to purge Saitama without striking back. Do you have any contacts in the Yamato Alliance, or any way to get a message through to them? I want them to be warned and the civilians must be evacuated asap."

The leader of the Kozuki group looked over his assembled cell, taking in their individual expressions.

Kallen seemed appalled. For good reason, he had just brought it to their attention that an entire Ghetto, the last refuge for their people, was going to be purged completely. Down to the last man, woman, and child. She was still in high school and here she was, knee deep in these kinds of things. It really said something about her character.

Inoue and Sugiyama were both calm outwardly, though their minds were likely racing. Sugiyama was the one with an aquaintance in the Yamato Alliance, a man by the name of Hiroki. "Kento, get word to your pal in the Yamato Alliance. Tell him to get as many civilians out as possible. Make sure he knows that this is as serious as it gets." Ohgi stopped for a moment, listening to something Zero said over the phone. "Three hours, huh? Let's hope it's enough. You hear that? Tell them they've got three hours to get everyone to safety."

He didn't need to even look to see Tamaki's reaction, the redhead was absolutely furious if the litany of curses was anything to go by. Minami was unreadable, as per the norm, but something seemed slightly off about Yoshida.

Normally, Yoshida was rather laid back. Of course, he hadn't expected him to be entirely calm in this situation, but the look in his eyes was something Ohgi hadn't seen in quite some time.

Yoshida Toru was boiling with rage.

* * *

Lelouch hung up after delivering all the information he had to Ohgi and his band of misfits, reaching the door that would lead to Ashford's underground access tunnels and grant him his unnoticed escape as per the usual.

However, he was stopped by a sudden call of "Lelouch?" from a few feet away.

Under normal circumstances, he would wave the speaker off, especially considering just what he had to deal with at the moment, but because of just who it was and what this person knew he had to take a few more moments and speak with her.

"Oh, hello Nina. I'm sorry, but I've got something really important to take care of right now." Lelouch replied, giving her an apologetic look.

Nina frowned, looking him over. The case he carried was a new addition, and she had a feeling she knew what it held. "Something for Lelouch to take care of, or something for... him?" Nina refrained from using his alias' name aloud, thankfully. It meant she was taking her pledge not to tell anyone seriously, at the very least.

His smile turned guilty, all but confirming her thoughts. "Him." And from there, the smile disappeared entirely. "This is something... really important, Nina." He told her with a serious look. "A lot... a lot of people are going to be counting on me now... you'll probably see why on the news." Lelouch added the last part in a whisper, before accessing the elevator that would take him underground.

After a few more moments, Nina was left alone with her thoughts. 'Just what did he mean when he said I would see it on the news? The news has been full of terrorist cells being located and stomped out... is he going to save one of them?' It would make sense. Zero's eventual goal, Lelouch's eventual goal, was to reclaim Japan for the Japanese. What he did after that was irrelevant until he actually accomplished that monumental feat.

Monumental because not once had a rebellion even come close to freeing a captured Area from Britannia. At this point, Nina was more afraid that Lelouch would die trying to free Japan from Britannia than she was afraid of him succeeding.

And, really, if Lelouch did succeed in freeing Japan, how would it adversely affect her? Granted, the inevitable conflict between Lelouch and his allies and Britannia would probably cause some sort of change to her life. If the situation became too volatile here, people may be relocated back to the mainland. That wouldn't be too terrible.

But him dying in the process? There was where the problems started. Not only did Nina have her crush to think about, but Lelouch was one of her closest friends. Only Milly was closer to her than Lelouch.

It had been said before, but it was worth repeating. Nina simply did not want him to die. But he was one man trying to take on a country that ruled a third of the world. Sure, he was rallying his own army of sorts with these rebels, but in the end he would only have a fraction of Britannia's forces.

And that was without counting Digimon. Britannia had more Digimon than any other country. No rebels were in possession of a Digimon, either, to her knowledge.

Just how was he going to compete with that kind of overwhelming force? Even with Knightmares, there was no way for him to match a Champion of any real strength.

Lelouch's enemy had superior forces in both quantity and quality, from what Nina could see.

So why was he so confident? Why could he smile at her warmly, before going off and playing the part of a man who was wanted by a third of the world for his crimes?

Why did he seem so much more alive, now? It seemed as though he was more... interested, more so than she had ever seen him. He had always been so detached from the world, it seemed, but now he wasn't.

It seemed as though becoming the masked rebel Zero had lifted a great weight off of Lelouch's shoulders, despite the fact that he had firmly set the full weight of Britannia's ire upon his back.

He was completely at ease, even with the anger of one of the world's super powers settled directly on him.

... And if Nina was being completely honest, that sort of turned her on.

* * *

Within the G1 mobile defense base, Cornelia li Britannia looked over the ghetto once more with a pair of hard eyes. Today, Saitama ghetto would be purged of all life.

And it was all a ploy to goad Zero into the open so that she could finish him. Cornelia knew Zero's type, more arrogant than they were clever. He would show up. She had personally invited him, after all.

Cornelia turned to the line of men standing at attention behind her. Formerly under the command of Clovis, these men were some of the few who survived the Shinjuku incident.

One of them, the highest ranking, stepped forward. "My lady, we would like to thank you for your generosity in-" He was cut off by the purple haired woman.

"I don't care about that. Tell me, are the conditions similar?" Her eyes gleamed, as she turned once more to the ghetto. "To Shinjuku, I mean."

If the casual dismissal of his gratitude rankled him at all, the soldier didn't show it. "Yes, mi'lady. The only difference is that in Shinjuku we were searching for something in the process." He replied.

Hearing this, Cornelia frowned for a brief moment, before shaking her head. "It doesn't matter. Darlton, what will the effects on productivity be?"

Andreas Darlton, a tall, rugged man with blond hair and a large scar across his face, beginning just above his right eye and ending beneath his left, replied to her. "Primary sector output should decrease by 0.2 percent."

She smirked. "Within expectations, you mean."

And with that taken care of, Cornelia swung her gaze towards the youngest person on the G1.

Youngest, but also most dangerous. Anya Alstreim, the Knight of Six.

A prodigy in Knightmare combat, and partnered with a Digimon capable of reaching ultimate level. A beast that could demolish anything in a 30 kilometer radius. It would be simple to order her to use this digimon's ultimate form to demolish the Ghetto easily, but that would defeat the purpose of this entire operation. Not to mention the possible repercussions from said form.

While the Tankdramon was a terribly powerful weapon, actually using that particular ability was quite costly. An entire week of being bound to Rookie level at best due to the sheer amount of energy it took.

Potentially crippling their most powerful weapon for an entire week? Not an idea Cornelia was keen on. And speaking of things she wasn't keen on...

Cornelia disliked Anya Alstreim. She had no purpose. Nothing this girl ever did was done with any real intent behind it. A person like that, being so powerful... on some deeper level, Cornelia resented that. Not that she had power, no. Cornelia was a warrior, and any self respecting warrior would not resent another just for their power. It was the fact that Anya was not a warrior. She was not a soldier. She was just a girl who couldn't remember anything and didn't care about anything.

If Anya Alstreim were to be captured by enemy forces, held until she underwent one of her "memory wipes", and then told she was an enemy of Britannia she would believe it. Because Anya Alstreim had no loyalty to their nation other than what was planted in her every time she awoke without her memories.

And this was without taking into account the way she actually acted. Cornelia despised the fact that this girl was completely lackadaisical despite the fact that they would be in a battle soon. Even in battle, she would remain nonchalant with that dull look on her face.

"War is a struggle between pride and life.", Cornelia often said. This girl had no pride and practically no life. She had nothing to fight for, she simply fought because she was told to.

In Cornelia's mind, a warrior was someone who had beliefs and a purpose they would fight for until the end. Anya Alstreim was the exact opposite of this.

Repressing a sigh, Cornelia addressed the pink haired girl who was currently fiddling with her phone. "Lady Alstreim, be prepared to deploy at a moments notice."

Ignoring the dead-pan affirmative from the girl, she turned her gaze to her partner.

"You as well, Agumon. I want to crush Zero the moment he appears."

The yellow, bipedal reptile gave a salute, his green eyes lighting up in anticipation. "Yes, my lady."

With that, Cornelia looked back towards the soon to be battlefield of Saitama Ghetto.

The Ghetto was surrounded. The news was out. Zero had two hours to make his move.

It was all going according to plan.

While Cornelia was thinking heavily on the upcoming battle, there was another person on the G1 who couldn't have cared less.

'I actually don't want here. Normally I wouldn't care, but right now I just don't want to be here.' Anya wanted to be back at Ashford, talking with Nunnally under the watchful eyes of her big brother. She had been enjoying that. Actually, honestly, and undeniably enjoying herself and she had to leave it behind for this.

Standing beside her was Commandramon, calmly staring at the ceiling. He was worried about earlier, for good reason.

Anya didn't know any better, he knew that. But she had announced, openly, that she was taking part in what amounted to a massacre. Not only did she potentially give away classified military information, but she had possibly damaged her standing with those two quite a bit. Despite all his worrying, though, Commandramon knew there was nothing he could do about it. After all, what is done is done. He simply shook his head, allowing his tail to swish about behind him.

That was one reason he preferred being Commandramon, honestly. It may seem silly to some, but he loved having his tail. Just having the limb casually swish back and forth was calming. The closest example he could give would be rubbing one's temples in times of stress, or taking a deep breath.

To put it simply? It was nice.

He certainly needed the calming effect at the moment, as apprehensive as he was over the coming battle. While most Britannian assaults on terrorist hideouts didn't bother taking civilian safety into consideration, civilians were not explicitly targeted. That was not the case here.

While Commandramon didn't know what percentage of this ghetto's residents were actual, completely innocent civilians, he was certain there were more than a few. And they were marked for death.

And that included men, women, the elderly, and children.

Children. Some the same age or younger than his partner, or his partner's crippled friend. Some of these children may even be crippled, or otherwise sick. And these soldiers were supposed to kill them in cold blood. And they would do it, he knew, and more than a few of them would enjoy it.

Some would find it distasteful. Some would be horrified by the atrocities they were committing. Some would even resent their leader for forcing them into this horrible act.

But each and every soldier under Princess Cornelia li Britannia would dutifully slaughter an entire orphanage of innocent children if she ordered them to.

The only thing worse than realizing that would be realizing the Cornelia li Britannia would order said slaughter if it served her purposes. She might regret it. She might resent herself for it. She may find her willingness to order the murder of helpless civilians distasteful.

Despite all that? She would still be willing to do it.

If he were being quite honest, that disgusted him. Commandramon did not support this Empire and it's methods, or it's conquests. But he would remain silent and he would remain loyal to this rotten empire.

All for her, his partner. The one person he cared for more than any other. He would remain by her side through whatever decisions she made, protecting her with all his might.

Commandramon sometimes wondered what would happen if his partner sided with Zero. While the masked terrorist had drawn the ire of Britannia for executing one of their princes, he couldn't find it in himself to condemn this man for doing it.

So far, the man had stopped the purging of a ghetto filled with civilians, and rescued a boy who had been falsely accused of regicide, while pulling the blame for said crime onto himself. The masked man had done nothing to turn Commandramon's view against him. If anything, the digimon held some respect for him.

Hence this line of thinking. It was, of course, just him pondering over something impossible. It helped keep his mind off the horrors that would no doubt be occurring within the next few hours.

As much as he despised Britannia, Anya saw fit to remain on their side. That was all he needed to know in order to fight for them.

No, not for them.

He fought for her and her alone.

* * *

Keramon sat quietly in the cockpit of a Sutherland, coiled up behind the seat. There was time before the battle began, and he was spending it in thought.

He had agreed to help Lelouch, his partner, in any of his endeavors. That was why he was fighting today.

That was the catalyst for his joining this battle. But how did he feel about the entire thing? That was the most important thing. Keramon was well aware of how the Digivices worked. Strong emotions meant more power. He could just fight alongside his partner, not caring who or what he was fighting for, but it wouldn't be complete. And that was what he had been doing so far; fighting just because Lelouch asked him to.

Or, rather, he had been sticking with Lelouch and doing as he asked because they were partners. He genuinely liked Lelouch, but that hadn't actually been at the forefront of his mind.

So, now, he was going to get his thoughts together. It was almost like he had just woken up from a light sleep, he realized. He'd been going about his daily life in something of a daze. Perhaps his rather... harsh entry to this plane of existence had something to do with it. The blue digimon allowed himself a brief chuckle, before returning to important matters.

Firstly, Britannia. They were a nation that forcefully expanded, growing to take over a third of the world. Most of the areas under their control became just that; Areas, designated by numbers. Stripped of their cultures, their rights, and even their names.

He could say, without a doubt, he despised them out of principle. So that was one reason to fight, aside from his bond with Lelouch. He couldn't hate Britannia just because Lelouch did, but the nations ideals made it rather easy to dislike them.

What of the Japanese? These people, trampled underfoot by the nation he who's ideals sickened him? He felt pity for them, at first. But then he met the group working with Ohgi Kaname.

Those were not people to be pitied. They had no need for something as trivial as that. Pity was for those who had given up, but these rebels were far from that. He liked them. They had fire in their hearts, and they fought for a noble cause. Freeing their homeland from the tyrannical rule of Britannia.

What they intended to do afterwards? He was sure none of them had thought that far ahead. As much as they fought and had the fire to do so, just freeing their land was practically a dream to them all.

Until his partner had shown up and shook things up with a shot heard round the world.

Lelouch had given these people something to rally behind, displaying his prowess by trouncing the military in Shinjuku with ease, and later by rescuing Kururugi as though it was a cake walk. Miracles, some would call them, but in reality they were just excellent planning.

But still, his partner was trying to be this country's messiah it seemed. And like a Messiah, he would have to keep delivering miracles.

Keramon would help with that. These people deserved to have a rallying point. They deserved to have their hope, and they deserved their freedom.

Yes, that was it. He despised the ideals of Britannia, and he empathized with the oppressed Japanese. In addition to that, his partner felt strongly about both of these things. What he was doing, the decisions he was making, he believed in them.

A wide, manic grin spread across his face. Yeah, that was it... strong emotions. He could feel it. The Digivice was reacting to it. That haze around his mind was finally clearing up and he could actually think clearly.

In order to stand by his beliefs, protect his partner, and help these oppressed people, Keramon would need to truly believe in every action he took. Today, he knew who he was fighting and why. He knew who he was fighting for, and why. And he knew who he wanted to save.

Today, in this fight, the first true battle he had with his partner, Keramon would show his foes the strength of the Digidestined.

The cockpit opened. Zero stepped into the Knightmare, and began situating himself.

"You know, Keramon." He began, as the knightmare's hatch closed. "I originally thought about disguising myself as a Britannian soldier again for this battle, and communicating with the Yamato Alliance via radio."

Keramon perked up, curious as to why his partner had deviated so far from that plan. And when, for that matter, seeing as how he hadn't even bothered to pack the stolen soldier guise. "Why didn't you, then?"

Lelouch removed his mask, setting it off to the side for the moment. "Because that plan was centered around getting to Cornelia." He revealed, frowning to himself. "Not only was it risky to attempt, but it would leave the Yamato Alliance in the dark, potentially getting them killed in the process."

"I think I get it. You're choosing between an attempt on Cornelia, or gathering more forces?" Keramon asked, thinking there was more to it than that.

A moment later, his suspicions were answered by Lelouch. "I'm choosing between more than that. I don't want to use these people and throw them away like trash. I'm not above manipulation, I'm not adverse to using people for my own purposes, but at the same time..." He sighed. "It's not that I couldn't throw away the lives of these people to serve my purpose, because I could. I just don't want to. Suppose that's better than nothing, huh?" At this point, a smile touched his lips.

His partner grinned. "Yeah, I s'pose it is. One bit of advice I've got for you, Lelouch, is to always keep your emotions strong, but keep them in check. With the Digivice especially, you can draw a lot of power from raw emotion. But too much of the wrong kinds of emotions could bring disastrous results."

"How disastrous are we talking here, Keramon?" Lelouch asked, humorously.

"One example that comes to mind is "A Greymon partnered with a child digivolving into a rampaging Skullgreymon from sheer anger, desperation, and a desire to be victorious." That kind of disastrous." He replied, fingers placed beneath his chin. Or, where his chin would be if he had one.

Lelouch blinked, a bit surprised at how specific that scenario was, before shaking his head. "Right. That would not be good at all. I'll be sure to watch out for that."

Keramon shrugged. "Say, Lelouch, what would you say the conditions for victory are today?"

"I'm going to humiliate Cornelia in combat. And then, I'm going to humiliate her further by escaping her encirclement without her being the wiser."

At least, that was plan A.

If that didn't work, he could always fall back on plans B through E.

* * *

It was a good thing he had backup plans, Lelouch noted as he looked over the situation.

Ohgi's group had been in charge of securing the escape route, for the civilians and the Yamato alliance. Thankfully, that had gone as planned. Cornelia was unaware of this particular sewer exit, which let out quite some ways away from the ghetto itself.

That was a miracle in and of itself. It meant that he didn't need to go out of his way to Geass any of her soldiers, or more importantly leave the ghetto in order to do so.

All of the civilians had been evacuated. Objective one was successful. He had ordered Ohgi's group to escort them to a safe place, and that had been that.

This had left him with the Yamato Alliance, who's morale was at an all time high. The fact that they had averted a disaster like Shinjuku, and had gotten all of the noncombatants out of harms way, took a weight off of their shoulders. In addition to that, they had the mind behind the Battle of Shinjuku and the Kururugi Break-out on their side.

And if that wasn't enough? They had Knightmares on their side. Not as many as Cornelia's forces, but still, they had them. With Zero, Knightmares, and no worries for civilian casualties, the Yamato Alliance was absolutely ready to go.

That had been going well, too. Under his direction, the Yamato Alliance made quick work of most of Cornelia's forces, which forced her to retreat.

But then the Sutherland equipped rebels began getting picked off, with the survivors left clueless as to how it had happened.

This was where Lelouch was now. "Retreat. We've done enough here. Cornelia has deployed the Knight of Six's Digimon into the Ghetto. It is a stealthy Champion level digimon and will be impossible to defeat with Sutherlands."

"So she's got the robo-dino out in the field, huh?" Keramon muttered as the comm. shut off, recalling his brief interaction with the digimon during the Mass Breach.

Lelouch nodded. "Seems that way. We'll need to fall back, ourselves. With Sealsdramon in the field it's only a matter of time before Cornelia deploys her elites, including GeoGreymon."

Of course, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. It didn't get much more awry than having one of the enemies most powerful units appear out of thin air directly in front of you.

And even worse, this elite unit was actually smart. Sealsdramon readied his knife, his mechanical faceplate staring face to face with the Sutherland. "I've observed you for long enough to tell that you're likely the commander." He noted.

"Shit." Lelouch growled, hastily retrieving his mask and placing it on his head. With that done, he retrieved his digivice. "We'll need to hold him off until the Yamato Alliance has fully retreated. Think we can manage, Keramon?"

His question was answered by maniacal giggles. "Kekekeke... Yeah. I think we got this."

Beneath his mask, Lelouch grinned widely. "Good. Then let's do this."

"Digivolution."

* * *

Sealsdramon didn't know what to think right now.

He had been ordered to stealthily inspect the situation in the ghetto, and eliminate any enemy forces he located. Since there was no way to communicate with him out in the field, he was free to do so in his own way.

That is, of course, by disabling the enemy Knightmare Frames. Cornelia couldn't see what he was doing and so he didn't need to kill these people to please her.

But then he had located a single frame remaining stationary. It had done so long enough that he was led to believe it was either empty or, more likely, the commander of this ragtag bunch of rebels.

Zero.

So he had gone to confront that unit, expecting to easily overtake it and bring the masked man in for questioning.

That did not happen. At all.

Instead of taking in Zero with little fuss, Sealsdramon was now facing down another Digimon.

Which had burst from the Sutherland, demolishing it's upper half in the process, and landed a surprise attack on him.

But could anyone really blame him for being shocked by the arrival of another Digimon? Sealsdramon had been under the impression that the terrorists did not possess any digital monsters.

And here was proof that they were dead wrong.

Possibly the worst part of this startling discovery was the fact that this red and white spider thing was actually strong.

Not just strong. It was also fast. And it was moderately durable, if the shell was as hard as it seemed.

All in all, whatever he was fighting, it was not some pushover. It was a legitimate threat.

Even more startling than this, though, was the fact that someone had apparently predicted his interference in this battle. A Sutherland in a high vantage point, stationary, and not involved in the combat below? It was either empty, or the commander's unit.

Or a trap. But there was no reason to set a trap like that for Cornelia's regular forces. None of them had even gotten this far into the Ghetto.

Someone had anticipated the arrival of a unit able to get deep into enemy territory, and set a trap specifically for them.

Sealsdramon leaped back, grasping a canister that had been strapped to his lower back. With a quick motion, the digimon activated the red smoke signal inside of it without taking his eyes off his opponent.

Said opponent growled. "Brilliant. They gave him one of those. Of course they did. Now we've got to deal with a two giant lizards instead of one."

"I apologize, but you'll have to be deleted." Sealsdramon announced, readying both of his knives. "Working with the terrorists is a serious offense, and you're too powerful to remain active."

Infermon growled back to him. "I doubt you can manage that, robo-dino." The weakened ultimate enjoyed the brief pause in his enemy, as he mulled that nick-name over.

"I think I want to delete you now just out of principle." Sealsdramon said after a few moments, nodding to himself. And with that, he lunged at his foe once again, only to leap back at the last second.

Just in time to avoid a stabbing strike from one of Infermon's legs. As a follow up, the ultimate digimon launched a destructive blast of energy from his maw. "Hell's Grenade!"

Dodging quickly, Sealsdramon rushed in again to probe for any weaknesses he could abuse. It seemed his enemy was vulnerable for a moment immediately after launching his attack. He would have to capitalize on it the next time he used his projectile ability.

It wouldn't be long. Sealsdramon had learned quickly that approaching this foe in melee range was risky, as he could control all six of those limbs easily in addition to the use of that rather menacing horn. While the metallic horn didn't have much in the way of reach, it was sturdy and it was sharp. Something he did not want to be hit by. In addition to that, he didn't quite like the look of the golden stinger on his foe's back end. It was longer than the front horn, had a very sharp tip, and was otherwise an unknown. It could be ornamental, but he wasn't quite sure of it.

With all that in mind, Sealsdramon was just waiting out this battle until his reinforcements arrived. It had been around three minutes since he had let off the flare, so GeoGreymon should be arriving any minute now.

As if called by the mere thought of his name, a brilliant gout of flame signaled the arrival of said champion. "Mega Flame!" He roared, bathing half of the rooftop in fire.

Infermon had been standing on that half of the rooftop beforehand. But now he was nowhere to be found.

"Visual on enemy is lost." Sealsdramon pointed out, dully. "Smooth move, flamebrain." He so loved technically being outside of the command chain, and thusly allowed to insult GeoGreymon who was also outside of said chain.

"Can it, scrap-heap." GeoGreymon snarled, taking a deep whiff of the air. "Shit. I can't smell anything but burnin' metal and melting stone."

Sealdsramon would have palmed his face if he wasn't holding a knife. "And who's fault is that?" He asked, rhetorically.

"Shut up." Came the eloquent reply.

The cyborg digimon sighed, before looking off into the distance. "From my calculations, that digimon was buying time for his allies to retreat. If that is allowed, then this battle will be a loss on all parts for us. We need to hunt them down."

A snort, carrying with it a small blast of fire, was GeoGreymon's reply. "There shouldn't be anywhere for them to retreat. The entire Ghetto is encircled, and even the sewer exits are covered."

"Even so, they have to have an escape route somewhere since there were no civilians spotted during the battle or beforehand." Sealsdramon pointed out, getting a begrudging nod from the orange lizard. "We just need to locate it. With so many Knightmares retreating it should be easy to follow the trail." He was, of course, referencing the moderately powerful sense of smell that GeoGreymon possessed. Due to his familiarity with Knightmare Frames, in addition to his senses, he should be able to track them down before they could fully escape.

"Right, let's get to it then!" GeoGreymon prepared to leap onto the roads below, only for a red and white blur to ram into him and send him flying.

As GeoGreymon slammed into another building at high speed, bringing the crumbling structure down on his head, Infermon allowed his limbs to extend from his body once more, landing one the side of an adjacent building and remaining attached to it with ease.

'His body can contract on itself to increase aerodynamics, possibly durability, and he can scale walls like a spider. This one is becoming more and more dangerous the more I learn about him.' Sealsdramon thought, somewhat worriedly.

It wasn't so much he was worried about being defeated, though that possibility was there, it was mainly that he was concerned with such a powerful digimon being in enemy hands. If there was one, how many more were there?

As of now, the only Britannia affiliated Digimon in Area Eleven were GeoGreymon, a Coronamon with the ability to reach Champion, and himself. Two Champion enabled and one Ultimate enabled digimon in an already claimed Area was unusual, but it may be necessary now.

And without contact with Anya, Sealsdramon couldn't reach Ultimate level. Hell, the fact that he was even considering Digivolving to Ultimate showed that he was somewhat unnerved by this new foe.

Sealsdramon quickly jumped way from his prior position, narrowly avoiding another blast from the enemy's maw. 'This is it! He's vulnerable!' Before the thought could even finish in his mind, Sealsdramon was at his foe's side and preparing to drive both of his weapons into them.

But he was not facing a vulnerable foe at all. Instead he saw the gleaming yellow-green eyes of his enemy and was met with the muzzle of Infermon's mouth-cannon.

He had been played. "Hell's Grenade." The attack came before the name could even be uttered, and as he had fired it silently before Sealsdramon figured this was just him taking satisfaction at pulling one over on his enemy.

A blast of orange energy slammed into Sealsdramon, exploding into a ball of light as he flew away at high speed and into another building. And, once again, the building collapsed atop him.

For a Digimon like Sealsdramon, reliant on speed over brute strength, that would keep him down for a decent amount of time. Long enough for Infermon to deal with GeoGreymon, hopefully, as the champion had just burst from the wreckage holding him down.

"You dropped a building on my head! I'm gonna burn you alive!" And boy was he pissed.

Infermon decided to play with fire, hopefully without being burnt. "Your own fault for not paying attention. And for trying to catch me aflame."

GeoGreymon roared into the sky, producing a fearsome pillar of flame. "BURN! Mega Flame!" And this time, the pillar of flame was aimed at Infermon.

The weakened ultimate deftly avoided the powerful blast of fire, before lobbing his own Hell's Grenade barrage back at GeoGreymon. He wasn't surprised as his foe avoided the attack.

GeoGreymon was much, much more lithe and agile than Greymon. However, he sacrificed a bit of brute strength and firepower. With that in mind, Infermon began to plot.

'He's durable. We'll need to chip him down with attacks before launching a finishing blow.' Lelouch noted. Within his own sphere of light in an expanse of darkness, the boy floated gently.

In another sphere of light, the only other color against the backdrop of black, Keramon was situated. 'Yeah. We can try to blast Hell's Grenades at him, and then try that new trick we picked up.'

'It could work.' Lelouch decided, even as Infermon dodged another blast of fire from his enemy.

Explaining how this entire situation worked was beyond him, though. This inner state where he and Keramon existed as two separate entities, despite the fact that they were both Infermon at the same time, and how they could think separately here but Infermon's thoughts were both of theirs...

Frankly, if Lelouch was asked to describe this phenomenon, it would be like explaining colors to a man who had been blind at birth. He could fumble around, searching for some clumsy way to explain it, but in the end it just _was _and that was all there is to it.

Infermon once again dodged his foe, this time GeoGreymon had tried for a melee attack with his horns. It had missed, and Infermon landed a trio of Hell's Grenades on his back for the trouble.

Geogreymon lurched forward, snarling in anger and pain. "MEGA BURST!"

This time, when the blast of fire was unleashed, Infermon couldn't easily avoid it. The brilliant sphere of flame was positively massive, larger than some of the nearby buildings even! And it was hot, he could tell, he could see the road literally melting beneath it's heat.

He was NOT getting hit with that. With what little time he had, Infermon shot his legs into the ground and shot himself away at high speed, slamming through a building and bringing it down behind him in his attempt to escape the raging inferno behind him.

It was then that Infermon realized what had been happening. GeoGreymon had been leading him with Mega Flame's until he could switch their positions, leaving his back to the building in which Sealsdramon was trapped and securing his ally's safety before unleashing that torrent of fire.

Which meant...

"Death Behind." Sealsdramon's voice confirmed his suspicions, as the cyborg brought down his knives once more in an attempt to end the battle then and there.

The only things that saved Infermon was the durability of his back armor and the fact that the collapsing building had significantly dulled the blades of Sealsdramon's chosen weapons. As it was, he managed to escape without too much injury.

But that was something of a wake-up call for him. He was fighting two extremely dangerous Champion level digimon, as a weakened ultimate. At the moment, he was about as strong as either one of them.

Both of them together presented a major issue, possibly life threatening. As he had just learned by the potentially lethal shot from Sealsdramon mere moments before.

Infermon could not defeat the two of them alone. He would have to escape. But Sealsdramon would make that difficult, bordering on impossible.

He was running out of time and running out of luck, if the sliced back of his carapace was any indication.

His foes were both looking worse for the wear, but still capable of fighting. Sealsdramon's armor was dented, and his movements were slightly sluggish. GeoGreymon had noticeable injuries along his back and left flank, as well as a slight limp.

That attack from Sealsdramon had been his only significant injury throughout the fight, and even then it was little more than a scrape. But now Sealsdramon had a new pair of combat knives, sharpened and ready for combat. He had been too hasty to check his equipment upon being freed, looking to take the opening he had been given and it had been something of a waste.

Facing down two powerful champions, worn as they were, was not a good decision. But retreat was not an option either, not with Sealsdramon free to give chase. He would need to take him out and then he could retreat.

Or... perhaps he could pull a repeat of his earlier disappearance.

The standoff between the three ended with Infermon rushing quickly into a dilapidated building.

Sealsdramon, quickly catching on to the tactic, rushed in afterwards.

This cut off GeoGreymon, who had been charging up a Mega Flame to incinerate the entire building. After a brief moment, he realized just how large a mistake that would have been, and silently applauded his ally for rushing in afterwards.

That insect had managed to get him riled up, so much so that he was making mistakes. It had been a long time since he had been in an actual, serious fight and he was seeing what that stagnancy had wrought. He was so used to quickly stomping out his foes through sheer force that it was becoming a habit, overwriting his hard-learned fighting skills and tactical intellect.

GeoGreymon had just had his own wake-up call, coming face-to-face with his own actions jeopardizing the mission.

But now the battle had moved, and he couldn't follow without running the risk of bringing the whole place down. That building lead to a large series of underground tunnels, and they didn't support his size.

For now, he would need to rely on Sealsdramon to flush the bug out.

* * *

'Step one, complete.' Infermon noted to himself, having successfully lured Sealsdramon into the building with him.

He had seen three probable outcomes from his decision to rush into the building.

One, Sealsdramon would follow him in, and GeoGreymon would remain outside because his size made moving impossible in this area.

Two, Sealsdramon would follow him in, and GeoGreymon would destroy the building either by catching it aflame or by following them inside in a berserk state, bringing the building down and leaving him to escape in the distraction provided.

Or three, GeoGreymon would set the building aflame and prevent Sealsdramon from chasing him.

Out of those, three would have been best, but one was what he expected most.

Even so, he was playing a dangerous game now. Sealsdramon was an assassin, and now he was in the perfect environment for it. It was dark, there wasn't terribly large amounts of space, and there were enough pillars and tunnel entrances for him to hide himself easily.

All in all, Infermon was a a major disadvantage here.

Quick movements in the dark alerted him to the enemy's advance, and he quickly shifted back to avoid the incoming attack, taking a swipe with his claw in retaliation.

"This is my ideal battlefield." Sealsdramon noted, his voice seeming to come from every direction at once. "It's a matter of time before you're defeated, thrust back above ground or deleted." The digimon snickered for a moment, seemingly amused by his unintentional rhyme.

"We'll just see about that, won't we?" Infermon shot back, moving once again to avoid the slash of a knife. Before he could retaliate this time, Sealsdramon had faded back into the shadows.

"You won't trick me with false vulnerability this time." He announced, obviously still sour over being tricked so easily.

Another slash, and another swipe of his claws in retaliation. That seemed to be the pace of this battle. Until one of them got a lucky hit, it would likely continue. "I've many other tricks."

As though that phrase was the trigger for one of said tricks, Infermon found a perfect opening for it.

Sealsdramon had appeared above him, aiming for his neck this time. It was a big mistake, as he would soon find. The four golden spikes on Infermon's back suddenly shot out, attached to cables of their own, all aiming for the attacker.

Faced with such an unexpected attack, Sealsdramon could only throw up a minor defense. The attack was, otherwise, a direct hit.

Or not. The Sealsdramon that had been struck disappeared, fading out of existence, as Infermon found himself flying outside of the building from an extremely powerful kick.

His exit from the building alerted GeoGreymon, who quickly lobbed a ball of fire at the seemingly defenseless digimon.

Quick reactions saved Infermon from being roasted, as he latched onto a building and pulled himself from harm's way. "Urhk..." That kick had been devastating.

The white underside of his carapace was visibly dented, and it was causing a lot of pain. One of his lower spines had been broken off from the impact, and the others were shunted around by it.

It felt like he had been hit by a car, to put it lightly. Looked like it too.

GeoGreymon too notice. "He got you with a kick, didn't he? Looks like it hurt."

"Yeah. That really, really hurt. No point in lying about it." Infermon replied, on alert. He couldn't see Sealsdramon, which was never a good thing.

He could, however, see a news chopper in the air above the ghetto. How long had they been there? He couldn't stop to concentrate on that, though, he had to keep his attention on the fight.

And it was a good thing he did, too, because Sealsdramon chose that moment to reappear with another devastating kick that demolished the roof of the building he had been standing on.

"You're fast, but I'm faster." Sealsdramon taunted, pleased with himself for catching one of his foe's tricks and trumping it with one of his own.

He had no intention of telling the enemy how he had avoided his attack, but it wasn't necessary. Because Infermon had figured it out already. "Afterimages. You moved so quickly that it appeared you were still there." He noted, referring to the ability Sealsdramon had used to get the drop on him moments before.

Sealsdramon's shock was hidden by his mechanical faceplate, or so he had thought, but it seemed like his foe picked up on the subtle tensing that gave his surprise away. "You could tell from just seeing it once..." That was somewhat unnerving. He didn't use Afterimage often, as it was a very taxing ability to work with. It was simple, in theory; move fast enough and suddenly enough to make an afterimage. But in practice it took a lot of energy to manage, and a lot of time to learn the proper motions. Even more time went in to actually getting fast enough to use it.

It wasn't actually an "attack" that could be used by Sealsdramon. He was just forcing that particular effect to happen by meeting the required conditions, something that some other Digimon could do out of instinct, and there was no way that he could have been expected to use that particular trick.

So he was either dealing with something extremely intelligent, which was highly likely as the digimon had set up multiple traps for them throughout the fight, or this bizarre digimon had seen afterimages before.

Tossing that line of though to the backburner, Sealsdramon spoke. "GeoGreymon, the spines on his back can be used as projectiles attached to cables. I suspect the spine on his back end can be used the same way."

"Understood." Came the gruff reply from the largest of the three, as he settled himself into a fighting stance. "Ready for round three, bug?"

"Round three? What are we using to differentiate rounds?" Infermon pondered, remaining highly alert despite his reply.

"Times someone's gotten the drop on you." Sealsdramon guessed. "So far I'm the only one doing it though." Was it somewhat strange that they were having semi-friendly banter with someone marked for death at their hands? Probably. It was kinda fun though.

GeoGreymon snarled, his maw lighting up with fire once again. In response, Sealsdramon shifted himself to prepare for a lunge, and Infermon opened his own mouth wide and fired off a blast of orange energy directly into GeoGreymon's opening mouth.

Fun time was over.

* * *

Up in the news chopper high above the battle, Diethard Ried was having the time of his life.

Some would be wondering just how this situation came to be. Diethard was a high ranking member of the staff of Hi-TV, and also one of the most respected among his field. Originally, he had been Clovis's go-to for anything involving the public.

These connections had, of course, made him Cornelia's first choice for this particular event. Once it had gotten back to him that there was an honest to God battle between three powerful Digimon, which had occurred once the fight became visible to the G-1 base, he immediately set up everything he could feasibly want to cover it.

Including a helicopter. So here he was, practically leaning out of the chopper and recording the battle below like it was the most important thing he had ever done.

And to be quite honest, it very well may be. Battles between Digimon were not commonly captured on camera. Either they were onesided slaughters brought about by the Knights of the Round, or they were too deep into the fray for anyone to safely record them.

He had been terribly annoyed when the Mass Breach had gone down at Ashford, with not a soul able to get any footage. Not just one, not two, not even three, no, fifty plus confirmed Digimon sightings and a major battle between three Digimon and a small army. That was practically gold, but it had gone unrecorded for a myriad of reasons.

But this! This was a two on one battle between the Digimon of Princess Cornelia, Anya Alstreim, and a mystery digimon who had been fending the two other champions off admirably thus far.

This was a story! This got Diethard's blood pumping, had him watching every last bit with rapt attention and practically leaping out of his skin in suspense.

"For those of us just tuning in, here is a brief rundown of the situation going on below. Princess Cornelia has set Saitama Ghetto to be purged, and conflict has boiled down to these three juggernauts battling it out. I'm sure most of you will recognize Lady Anya Alstreim's partner Digimon Sealsdramon, as well as the menacing figure of Princess Cornelia li Britannia's GeoGreymon, but the two of them are currently locked in a fierce battle with a mysterious monster." Diethard zoomed in directly onto the form of the red and white digimon, attempting to keep the camera on it as it leaped around. It was quite difficult, but Diethard Ried was not one to be outdone and he managed to keep the camera zoomed in on the moving creature long enough for viewers to memorize it's form. "As of now, this Digimon is a complete unknown. It's origins, abilities, and even it's name are complete mysteries to us, though it is almost certainly working with the terrorists." As if they hadn't known that from the pitched battle, but hey, it sounded dramatic. Probably got a gasp or two from the younger audience. "So far it has been holding it's own against these two elite members of Britannia's army, Sealsdramon and GeoGreymon, through deceit and trickery. It has attempted to split up the duo, separating them by trapping the physically weakest beneath the rubble of a collapsed building. It has done so again by retreating into a building connected to underground tunnels, forcing GeoGreymon to remain outside or risk allowing it's escape. But now it seems that no tricks or traps will save this cunning foe from it's timely demise."

And much to Diethard's delight, the mystery monster had taken a brutal tail strike from GeoGreymon as though to punctuate his statement.

"This is the first time that terrorists in Area Eleven have gained the support of a digital monster." Diethard announced, watching as the spider like digimon dodged a strike from Sealsdramon before landing a strike with one of it's clawed legs, sending the champion into retreat. "And as you can see, it is a powerful adversary to have fought for several minutes against these two powerhouses, even on the defensive." The camera shifted to view the moderately battered GeoGreymon, since catching up to Sealsdramon was a complete impossibility for Diethard. "For a creature like GeoGreymon to be injured from a battle, it shows that this enemy is a dangerous one."

Suddenly, a massive burst of flame struck at the area the mystery digimon had been, torching several buildings around it's impact point. "Thankfully, it will not be a threat much longer. That, viewers, was Mega Burst! An extremely powerful attack, anything hit directly by that will be severely injured if not outright destroyed!"

Diethard was right on that note. The mystery Digimon had, in fact, been injured. Though, not as severely as he had expected.

It was missing it's horn, and seemed to be noticeably shaking while standing, as though to do so pained it.

"Well, folks at home, it looks like this battle is over." Diethard hid his regret behind a sarcastically regretful tone. "Even if that mystery Digimon can still fight, it's hardly able to stand on it's own six legs. Against something with speed like that of Sealsdramon, only this one's own speed had prolonged the battle. Unless this unknown Digimon can pull off something incredible, the outcome is certain." Diethard wondered, briefly, if anyone could tell that he was hoping for that "something incredible", before shaking his head.

All that was left was to capture the finishing blow.

Little did he know, he was going to get his "something incredible."

* * *

Infermon was in dire straits at the moment. 'We can barely stand. It's over. While we can keep on fighting, there's no way Sealsdramon won't be able to take us down now that we can't dodge as easily.' And it wasn't even easy to begin with. He had to remain constantly on alert for Sealsdramon just to avoid him by a hair.

Looking back on what had been his undoing, Infermon would definitely say that it was not realizing GeoGreymon intended to free Sealsdramon. Sealsdramon would have been out of commission for another five minutes at least, and in that time he could have escaped.

But there just hadn't been enough time to do anything about it. He couldn't go through that Mega Burst, and in the time he had taken to dodge GeoGreymon had already freed Sealsdramon.

As petulant as it was, Infermon was certain he could have won this battle easily if it wasn't so... unfair. Two on one, they had him. If there hadn't been two of them, this would have been easy.

It sucked to admit that, because it was childish. And the Lelouch part of Infermon hated being childish.

Either way, it didn't matter. Sealsdramon was bearing down on him and he could hardly move, it was over.

Said Champion moved off to the side, eyeing him carefully, as GeoGreymon lumbered into a position in front of him.

"You put up a good fight." The fire breather complimented, looking down at him with a measure of respect. "And you taught me a valuable lesson in this battle, that I was stagnating from easy conquests. I thank you for that."

With that said, he stomped his foot. "However, it comes to an end here. You'll not be forgotten, and you will serve as an example."

Fire began welling up in his throat, and Sealsdramon leaped behind his ally so as to be far out of the line of fire.

So this was how he went? It was pretty close to a formal execution, come to think of it. He wasn't happy with this end, but he couldn't do anything. No matter how much he struggled to move, it just wasn't happening.

He had been wrong about his injuries, it seemed. No, he couldn't continue to fight. He'd used all his energy.

It was all over, wasn't it? "...nn..lly." His last word came out mangled, harsh breaths interfering. Undeterred, he tried once more, something more ambitious than just his little sister's name.

"I will... obli...terate... Britannia."

Despite the fire in his maw, GeoGreymon spoke. He had been holding back for his adversary's last words, and now that he heard them he offered him one reply. "You have failed."

With his reply delivered, GeoGreymon finished charging what was likely his strongest Mega Flare yet. As an execution for such a powerful foe, nothing less would be right.

'No! I will NOT fail here! I CAN NOT FAIL! MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!' Lelouch shouted so loudly in his mind that it briefly overtook the meld.

And against all odds, Infermon moved.

And against even more odds, so did GeoGreymon.

"Get away from him!" Something _roared _as it threw GeoGreymon several yards away, his Mega Burst being released into the air harmlessly.

The news crew was quite lucky the were in the other direction, or it would have been notably less harmless.

Sealsdramon, along with anyone else watching the news feed, looked on in shock as another creature entered the fray.

Unlike the first, however, this creature was no mystery.

A Kuwagamon had arrived in time to save their foe from destruction.

And even worse was the fact that said foe seemed to have gained his second wind, standing proud and glaring at his foes.

Or rather, foe. Because GeoGreymon was completely wiped out. Not only had he fired off his Mega Flare, uselessly, but he had taken a powerful strike from another champion level digimon. It was clear after a few moments that GeoGreymon was out of the fight, because he had actually degenerated back into Agumon.

Facing down a fresh Champion level and a haggard but still able Digimon of an unknown level was not an intelligent decision.

With that in mind, Sealsdramon quickly gathered his fallen ally and retreated.

* * *

Now left alone with the Kuwagamon that had saved his life, seeing as how he could hardly move and would still have been incinerated by that Mega Burst had it launched successfully, Infermon slumped slightly.

That battle was close. Far, far too close. He had nearly died.

... What would happen if he died, or was deleted, or whatever, while merged? Would he just revert to human and digimon? Or would he actually die? Not worth the risk of testing it.

He noticed the Kuwagamon look up at the news chopper, before spreading it's wings and roaring menacingly.

The message was quite clear, and the news crew most certainly got it. Go away, I can fly. The were gone as fast as the chopped could move.

With that, the Kuwagamon picked him up spoke. "We need to get out of here without being seen. The civilians and rebels escaped somehow, so lead the way."

After saying that, the giant red beetle crouched down and with a brief glow, returned to rookie level.

With Nina standing beside the rookie, glancing around nervously. She was wearing a hooded jacket, with baggy pants and a pair of tennis shoes, but he could tell it was her.

And it shocked him. So much so that he dropped his own transformation, returning to Lelouch and Keramon. Or, rather, Zero and Keramon.

Either way, it wasn't time for pleasantries. That could be done later, but for now they had to get out of the ghetto.

"Follow me." Lelouch ordered, quickly turning and making a run for the sewage tunnels.

Nina nodded, making sure to tighten her hood over her face as she did so.

But as they ran, Nina came to a conclusion.

Today would not be the last time Nina Einstein followed Zero.

* * *

And boom. It. Is. Done.

That took a long. Long. LONG. Time. I took forever writing Saitama and I don't know why. Hopefully Kawaguchi and other events move faster. I've got some fun ideas for Kawaguchi, actually.

For those of you thinking C.C. is OOC? You're completely right. It'll be explained later. I couldn't find a good opportunity to do so in this chapter, but it's going to be explained.

But hey! Moving away from my possible writing ineptitude, who here expected Nina to come and save Lulu's ass? Probably someone, I can't be that unpredictable.

Also, the fight scenes... are they dull? To be quite honest, I'm not sure if my fight scenes are good. Any advice you have would be great!

Oh, and seriously, reviews make me happy. I don't mean the little dinky ones that are like "Good work, keep on truckin'!" because while those make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, the don't make me think. I like reviews that give me things to think about, like the one talking about Hyokomon and how he becomes Chronomon and its OP as balls and did I really give that to GINO?

And in response to that review, I'll answer with this: I'm not going to say "I know what I'm doing, no worries!" because in all actuality I have no idea what I'm doing at any given point in time.

But hey. If we ever get to a point where Super Ultimates start appearing? THEN it'll be a something to think about. I'm sure as hell not bringing a monster like that into the fold until a point where it's needed.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter eight, this one will break the 100k word marker for this story so let's take a moment of silence for that. I'm an author who's never managed to get this far in a story before, so this really is something of a landmark for me.

Bah. Enough of that. On to the show!

I do not own Code Geass. Nor do I ever intend to, because frankly... well, that sounds like a lot of work.

C.C.: Demon... have you seen Cheese-kun? I can't seem to find him.

Demon: *Blinks.* No, no I haven't. Have you asked Lelouch?

C.C.: Yes, but he hasn't seen him either. I'm worried. What if he's cold?

Demon: Well then I'll be sure to carry a blanket around in case I find him.

*C.C. walks away, Lelouch casually saunters up.*

Lelouch: Hey.

Demon: You know she'll figure it out eventually.

Lelouch: Yes, but not before I can pin the blame on Tamaki.

* * *

After Lelouch had left, C.C. had sighed, leaned back onto the bed, and began to reevaluate the situation.

C.C. had not wanted to form a contract and have her contractor get attached to her. She was going to come off as a cold and indifferent woman who Lelouch would have been fine with killing when the time came.

But then he had actually thanked her, and he had been warm to her. He had been genuinely kind. That hadn't been according to her plans. It had been jarring. And it didn't seem to fit.

It wasn't like Mao, who she had raised from his childhood. Mao adored her because she was his mother figure and the only person who's thoughts he couldn't hear. It was a given that he would thank her, show her affection, and so on. He relied on her, she had become his entire world.

That was not the case with Lelouch. He could have been just as cold to her as she intended to be to him seeing as how she was just some random girl who had barged into his home, made herself at home in his bed, stolen his credit card to buy pizza, and all around made a nuisance of herself. But he didn't. Rather than greeting her indifference with his own, he had actually tried to be kind to her.

He wasn't the first to be kind to her, for sure. She had charmed many of her contractors for various reasons, sometimes out of necessity. But those were all people who she had gone out of her way to seduce or otherwise charm so that they would be kind to her.

Lelouch had gone out of _his _way to be kind to her. And that was new. It was interesting.

She liked it, to be quite honest. So rather than coming off as the aloof witch who was out of touch with the world, C.C. had decided to be herself.

Not like with Mao, when she had been a loving mother figure who was always there for him and would act like he was the most important thing in the world to her. That had been...

It wouldn't be right to call that an act, really. There was a part of her who had actually loved Mao like her own child, because she couldn't have children of her own and had always, on some level, wanted to. That part, however, was not in charge of her decisions.

Which was made horribly clear by the fact that she had left him.

"I hate feeling guilty." C.C. muttered to herself, rolling onto her stomach and cuddling one of Lelouch's pillows. "It reminds me that I'm still human."

Humans were not meant to live as long as she had, or suffer through the things she had and survive with the memories ready to haunt her sleep. And yet here she was, painfully human and even more painfully aware of this fact because she kept feeling her guilt gnawing at her, alongside other emotions altering her decisions.

She couldn't have stayed with Mao. He was a lost cause, there was no chance he would be able to grant her wish. She had known this for such a long time, perhaps even the first time he had looked upon her with those adoring eyes of his as a child. But she had stayed with him, cherished him and became his entire world.

C.C. knew, every moment she spent with Mao, that he was growing more and more dependent on her. She could have stopped it, should have stopped it... but she hadn't because she let her feelings get in the way.

And here she was, doing the same thing again. At the rate things were going, C.C. didn't think Lelouch would be willing to kill her and grant her wish. So once again, he was not the contractor who would finally end her life and grant her deepest desire.

"Even so." C.C. began, nuzzling closer to the soft pillow. "He is interesting. Even if he won't grant my wish, he'll at least keep me entertained." She smiled softly, closing her eyes and allowing her mind to wander off as she drifted off to sleep.

Strangely enough, C.C. didn't have many nightmares when she slept in Lelouch's bed.

If anything, that was one good reason to stick around. It had been ages since C.C. had slept this well and she was certainly enjoying it.

Just before she finally dozed off, C.C. allowed herself a small smirk.

Sleeping was always more fun naked and wrapped in the arms of a lover, she recalled.

Lelouch would do well in that role, and who knew? With the kind of charm he had, Lelouch could probably talk a pretty girl into a threesome. The green haired one who'd learned of his identity as Zero would be adorable in that kind of situation.

That would be fun.

* * *

After escaping Cornelia at Saitama, Lelouch, Keramon, Nina, and Dokunemon had relocated themselves to an old on the outskirts of the Settlement.

With their location secured, Lelouch removed his mask. "Thank you for the save, Nina. I thought it was over for me." He'd been in the worst possible situation, there. Outgunned and without an executable plan for escape or victory.

Seeing him reveal his face, Nina pulled her hood down and gave him a small smile. "If you hadn't suggested I watch the news, I wouldn't h-have been there. I-I'm just glad I saw you fighting. A-and if it wasn't for Dokunemon, I wouldn't have been able to do anything." The green haired girl knelt down to pet her partner's head, much to said partner's pleasure.

"You're not givin' yourself enough credit, Nina. I can only reach Champion because of you, you know." Dokunemon reminded her, the little worm quite comfortable with being petted.

In response, Nina just blushed a bit.

"Say, how'd you guess that Lelouch was actually in the fight and that it wasn't just me?" Keramon questioned, scratching his head lightly. Lelouch perked up at this too, curious about it himself.

"I... uhm... well, I just guessed. S-since Dokunemon and I can do that, I thought maybe you two could too. It made sense..." She looked up from her own partner's head, glancing up at the blue jellyfish. "And even so, if you and Lelouch have the same kind of bond that Dokunemon and I have... l-losing you would have been awful for him."

The blue Digimon grinned. "Wow, Lelouch, she's really lookin' out for you. Could it be that Shirley's got some competition?" The blue Digimon teased.

Nina's face turned scarlet at the insinuation, and she seemed to shrink into her baggy clothing as though it would hide her embarrassment. "I-I, uhm... you see... I j-just care about him! He's m-my friend so..."

Dokunemon shook his head. 'She's got it bad.' He noted to himself, looking over the assembled people. So that was Zero? And he had a partner, a very unique one at that.

Keramon weren't even supposed to exist anymore. After the main attack on their original homestead, the Empire had put out bounties on any and all members of the Keramon line.

Keramon and the Black Digimon lines, such as Black Agumon, Black Gabumon, and any other "corrupted" Digimon were top priorities for extermination. They'd been hunted to the point where the chances of meeting one were once in a lifetime. Even in the lands of the Seven, there were skilled Empire Assassins hunting down these priority targets.

He knew that much, at least. It had been big news when the Seven had originally found one of these assassins, but there wasn't much to do about it since the Empire was already practically at war with them. Couldn't really threaten aggression with people who were already aggressive, nor could they negotiate anything at all for those same reasons. In the end, all the Seven had been able to do was hand the assassin over to Lucemon, who's subject had been the one targeted.

Lucemon, of course, took that as an insult. And as the Demon Lord of Pride, it was unwise to insult him. Needless to say, no one envied the captured Digimon.

Dokunemon didn't actually know why Keramon line Digimon were set so high on the Empire's priority list. The Black lines he could understand, since they were essentially corrupted versions of Digimon that the Empire generally employed. Agumon, Gabumon, Guilmon, and so forth. It was something of a slap to their face to see alternate versions of some of their main soldiers based entirely on being dark in nature. Not to mention the fact that the Mega levels of those Digimon were generally more powerful than the normal ones.

There had once been tales of a Black Guilmon digivolving into a monster known as Chaos Megidramon, as opposed to the normal Chaos Gallantmon... and that was a horrifying concept. Megidramon itself was practically a legend, equal in power to Azulongmon of the Sovereign, or Magnadramon of the Empire. It's location was unknown to anyone at the time of his departure from the Digital World, though everyone was aware of his existence.

At any rate, Black line Digimon were more powerful as a rule, though more inclined to violence or aggressive behavior. Megidramon was the epitome of violence and aggressive behavior, even moreso than Daemon of the Seven. A BLACK version of that, further emphasizing those two character traits that had made Megidramon, a being of legendary strength, such a threat to the world as a whole?

Terrifying. Absolutely and utterly terrifying. So, he could see why the Empire would be hunting them, on the off chance they could turn into some sort of monster like that. It was wrong, of course, to hunt them down just for what they were, but he could understand why they were targeted. But back on topic, Keramon. The were basically gone now, denied their chance to be reborn as a Digi Egg. The Empire had developed ways to actually destroy data, when it was normally either absorbed or simply relocated to certain areas to become a Digi Egg. They made good use of this method, whatever it was, by permanently deleting any Digimon on their blacklist.

To see one of those blacklisted digimon, partnered with a human at that? Seriously interesting. This wasn't just "once in a lifetime", oh no, this was a once ever kind of thing. That a Digimon from a nearly extinct species would become the Digidestined partner of a human rebelling against a nation eerily similar to that which had hunted them to the point of near extinction... it was just too perfect.

"Now, now, Keramon." Lelouch chided, smiling gently at Nina as he did so. "You shouldn't tease the person who just saved our sorry asses. She might leave us to our fate next time." He joked.

However, despite him intending it as a joke, that statement reminded Nina of the life changing decision she intended to make. "That won't happen, Lelouch. F-from now on, I'll s-support you." Frowning a bit, she clarified her statement. "Support Zero, I mean."

Lelouch blinked, before a slight frown settled upon his lips. "Nina... you know what you're saying right? That you'll willingly betray your country, fighting alongside a wanted man, possibly being injured or killed along the way?" He shook his head, continuing on. "I can't ask you to do that for me." He'd chosen this path for himself, for his own reasons. If he was correct, Nina was just looking out for him.

In response, Nina gave him an unflinching stare. "You are that wanted man, Lelouch. You're already facing the possibility of death or injury, today is proof of that. I c-can help you."

"It's not that you can't help me, Nina. You saved my life today, you're highly intelligent, and you've managed to befriend a Digimon. Looking at this tactically, I should be pleased at your offer." Despite saying this, his frown persisted. It had seemed he was correct about her motivations. "But I can't look at it tactically because of who you are, and how close you are to me. I care about you too much not to take this into consideration." By "this", of course, he meant the fact that Nina was just an ordinary student who had no reason to fight in a war.

Nina's brow furrowed, and she gave him a curious look. "T-take what into consideration?" She questioned, wondering just what he meant by that.

Feeling older than he was, Lelouch allowed himself a long, drawn out sigh. "You don't have a reason to fight them." From the tone he used while saying "them", it was quite clear he meant Britannia. "Britannia hasn't wronged you in any way."

Much to Lelouch's surprise, Nina practically growled out her own reply. "Y-you're right. Britannia hasn't done anything t-to me. But that's the reason right there, isn't it? J-just because I'm Britannian, I'm above their abuse? It's w-wrong. T-treating people the way we have, just because they're not Britannian... it's unfair! We don't realize, or don't care, about the fact that we're making these people hate us unconditionally!" Nina paused, clenching her hands into tight fists. "The worst part is that if it wasn't for the Numbers, Britannians would turn on eachother."

Once more, Lelouch was surprised by Nina. "Heh, so you've pieced that together too?" And really, it wasn't too hard to realize that the Britannian philosophy, the strong rule over the weak, would cause major issues in their society if not for the Numbers readily available to serve as the "weak".

Britannian philosophy basically intended for every Britannian to become a bully towards those beneath them, while simultaneously encouraging goodwill to one's fellow Britannian's. After all, bullies didn't bully one another, they grouped together to bully others.

But without readily available "little guys" to mess with, the bullies would then turn towards the weakest in their group. And again, and again, and again, until the entire group collapsed.

Suffice to say, Britannian philosophy would need to be changed since he intended to do away with the numbers system.

Even though Nina seemed quite motivated at the moment, what with the sheer wrongness of Britannia's ideals, he had to be absolutely certain that she wanted this. Lelouch could never forgive himself for placing his friend in danger like this if it wasn't exactly what they wanted. "I'll be extremely clear here, Nina." He began, his serious tone easily drawing her full attention. "If you choose to fight alongside me, you may die. I cannot stress this enough, there may come a point where you're overwhelmed and killed. I cannot guarantee your safety, no matter how hard I will try to do just that." Another sigh. "I don't want you to fight in this war for me, Nina. If you're going to stain your hands with something like this, it will have to be for your ideas, your beliefs. Know that if you intend to oppose Britannia, you will be directly responsible for the deaths of Britannian soldiers. Can you do that? Can you bring yourself to kill another human being for your beliefs? If you can, then I'll welcome you with open arms."

That was the main thing he had to make clear, even more so than the danger to her own health. He would do absolutely everything in his power to keep her safe, and she was already quite capable at the moment, which meant the one major concern was her conviction here.

Lelouch could easily order the deaths of Britannian soldiers. He knew that they had chosen their path, both to be a soldier and to serve the rotten nation of Britannia, and so he felt little to no guilt over ordering their deaths on an open battle field.

But, then, he had seen firsthand the cruelties inflicted on the Japanese by Britannian soldiers. He'd seen the fire, corpses, and rubble all for himself.

Lelouch had experienced war.

Nina had not. She was a student, one who's mother had been taken by the very same people who Lelouch was intending to free for that matter.

She shivered for a moment, picturing Kuwagamon crushing a Sutherland against the ground, it's pilot being unable to eject. Very briefly, Nina felt sick.

It was one thing to imagine killing someone, but it was another thing to do so while having the means and motivation to do the deed.

In the end, Nina's reply was simple. "Soldiers knew they could die in battle when they enlisted."

With that said, Lelouch shook his head in exasperation, though the small smirk on his lips somewhat ruined the gesture. "I suppose I can't convince you to rethink your decision, Nina?"

"No." She replied immediately. "I've got too many r-reasons to fight, now that I know I c-can." Aside from her care for Lelouch, Nina truly did feel Britannia was wrong. And so she would trust Lelouch to build something better in it's place, one day.

Before Dokunemon had entered her life, she hadn't given the state of the world much thought. She couldn't do much to change the world at the time, so why bother thinking too heavily on it?

But that had all changed when the Goburimon attacked. With this power, she had the ability to change the world. So she thought about it. And she came to the conclusion that the world was rotten. From Britannia all the way to the EU and China, corruption ran rampant. Something had to be done.

Freeing Japan, eventually defeating and reestablishing Britannia, and then moving on to the rest of the world... it was certainly a tall order, but if they could accomplish that, then they could do anything.

The green haired girl let out a squeak as her crush suddenly wrapped her up in a hug, much to the amusement of their respective partners. "Then I'll just thank you again, this time for standing by me." Lelouch whispered, the smile evident in his voice.

It really wasn't fair, Nina realized, how easy it was to fall in love with Lelouch. If he had this effect on other women, either she'd have serious competition or he'd end up building himself a harem.

* * *

"PYRO GRENADE!" He roared, twisting his head back to fire off the purple sphere of destructive energy at his pursuer.

After a moment, he heard a short explosion and the snapping a tree branches, confirming that his attack had been dodged. Mere moments later, he leaped into the air to avoid the return fire.

The earth where he had just been exploded as an orange blast of energy slammed into it, forcing up a cloud of dust and blowing him forward from the force of it's impact.

However, he had intended for that to happen, and so he landed harmlessly on his feet and continued running at full speed.

"Hand of FATE!" The chasing Angemon announced, launching yet another orange blast of power from his hand. He'd been doing it constantly since spotting his prey, attempting to clip him and slow him down, or land a direct hit to cause major damage.

But in doing so, he'd likely been exhausting himself, expecting an easy fight once he caught up to his Rookie level targets.

"Obsidian Storm." Came a menacing whisper, sounding as though it had been delivered by the very wind. Many would have been startled by the sudden call, but he knew the voice well.

After all, they had been friends since their hatching.

Given his familiarity with the voice, he simply continued on unhindered as a vicious hail of black diamonds shot past him and reached their target, the pursuing Angemon.

Due to his tunnel vision on the more visible of his quarry, the Celestial Digimon found himself taking a direct hit from the storm of sharpened diamonds. "Ahhg!" He cried, as they dug into his skin.

His cry had been the signal for the running Digimon to return and attack once more, aiming to finish him then and there. "PYRO GRENADE!"

This time, it was a direct hit, slamming into Angemon with all the destructive force of it's namesake. But that wasn't the end of it, as the former prey turned into the predator.

"ROCK! CRUSHER!"

That was the last thing the Angemon heard, as a pair of reptilian claws slammed into his skull at high speed, easily deleting the heavily fatigued Champion.

Neither he nor his partner made to absorb the data, allowing it to drift harmlessly off. They both knew that Angemon would be reborn from a Digi Egg in the Primary District of the Celestial Empire.

Just as they had, once upon a time.

The destroyer of Angemon sighed, briefly, as he recalled his fond experiences as a Baby and In-Training Digimon so long ago. Oh how things had changed, with the two of them now being hunted by the Empire they had once served.

Their perspective on life had shifted, drastically, after that mission gone horribly awry. Respectful glances from their underlings had turned to sneers of disgust, once friendly faces had shifted into glares promising deletion without rebirth.

A horrible fate, denied your chance to be reborn.

Even to be absorbed by your adversary wasn't such a cruel fate, as you would still find yourself reborn, though lacking your memories. For that was what their Data was, rather than just their power. It contained their experiences and memories, their knowledge and opinions.

His oldest friend blurred into existence beside him, speaking in her eternally collected tone. "Reminiscing?" She asked, having heard his sigh and seeing his downtrodden stance.

"Yes, I can't help but remember the days when Angemon were friendlies rather than potential executioners." He responded, turning his gaze onto her.

Even at first glance, one could tell that this was not a normal Renamon. The yellow fur that the species was often known for was replaced with a midnight black, which stood out against the white that had remained unchanged. Rather than remaining black and fading into the midnight fur, the accents upon her thighs and just beneath her eyes had shifted into a brilliant gold color, eerily similar to the yellows her fur had once been but still inherently different.

The bracers upon her arms had remained unchanged, something he knew she took solace in, being the same purple she had always bore.

Her eyes had also kept their original coloring, retaining the light blue he had always remembered. It was comforting that he could look into her eyes and still see something so familiar, when they had both changed so much.

"I'm finding it easier to see them as the enemy, considering just how quick they were to do the same to us." She replied bitterly, clenching her paws into what could pass for a fist.

"Perhaps you've got a point." He admitted, looking over his own changes now.

At one point, he had been a Guilmon. And then he had digivolved further and further, reaching the form of Wargrowlmon. Being an Ultimate level Digimon, he and his partner Taomon had been of some standing in the Celestial Army.

But all that had changed along with them. Now, rather than the powerful ultimate of crimson and silver, there was a much weaker black reptile.

Gone was the crimson hide that often identified a Guilmon, replaced with more of the inky blank. Rather than fading away in the mixture of black, his own markings had become the shocking crimson he had loved so much. He was happy, at least, that the color he had grown to love had not left him entirely.

Yet.

Moving on, he had remained mostly unchanged. His underbelly had remained white, and his amber eyes had not changed either. Even if he had gone through some major shifts in coloration, he could still look into his own two eyes and be at peace.

It was hard to believe that they had both been normal at one point, looking over themselves now. Just why had this happened to them?

If only they hadn't been given that damn mission. Someone else could be out here running from their former allies, scampering about and constantly looking over their shoulders.

But at the same time, he didn't know how well anyone else would fare in this situation. For the moment, he and Renamon seemed to be doing well enough.

Further considerations would have to be put off, the duo decided, as they had company. "HAND OF FATE!"

When the smoke cleared, Black Guilmon and Black Renamon had already put major distance between the newest arrival and themselves.

And so, under what little moonlight shone through the canopy, the chase continued on.

* * *

"I'm tellin' you, it's weird. I keep havin' this dream and it's creepin' me out!" Tamaki complained, looking over towards Ohgi as the former teacher sat at his makeshift desk, messing around with his phone.

He was mostly ignoring Tamaki for the moment, because he was worried about Zero.

All he'd heard thus far was that Infermon was saved by another Digimon. And that was it. Zero had yet to contact them.

Was it wrong to be worried in this situation? What if Cornelia had found that secret tunnel and managed to ambush Zero on his escape?

But at the same time, he was nervous about the prospect of calling Zero. If he didn't pick up, Ohgi was pretty sure he'd become even more of a nervous wreck.

And on top of that, he had to worry about the residents of Saitama, who had been relocated to Shinjuku.

Yeah. Shinjuku. Their base of operations.

Honestly, Shinjuku wasn't in that bad of a condition after the purge. The buildings were mostly intact, for a ghetto that is.

The main reason for the leaving of the locals had been due to the horrible memories the survivors had to carry with them. Thankfully the former residents of Saitama were just too happy to be alive for any of that to matter to them.

But now he had the entirety of the Yamato Alliance in their base of operations. It still amazed him how Zero had actually managed to get every single person out of Saitama. That really was nothing short of a miracle.

Despite that, however, now Ohgi had to take the Yamato Alliance into account. Which was just a whole heap of problems.

They were larger than his own group, by a large margin. Which meant that it would be hard to keep them in line if they got it in their heads to do something.

Ohgi was honestly hoping that they would be willing to join up with Zero and his own group. Having seen Zero perform these miracles three times, he was really beginning to feel like the masked man could be the key to liberating Japan. With just their small group he had turned the tides of Shinjuku with ease, with only himself and Kallen he had rescued Kururugi Suzaku from a certain death.

And with the Yamato Alliance, he had averted another ghetto's purging and managed to get everyone, even the combatants, out alive. What would he be able to accomplish with the entirety of the Yamato Alliance, their group, and the intellect he possessed?

Needless to say, the thought of that really brought Ohgi's hopes up.

Enough so that he dialed Zero's number on his phone without realizing it, and was now awaiting the mask man's answer.

The man let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding when the familiar voice of the masked man came from the other end. "Ohgi? Everything went according to plan?"

Relief coursed through him as he realized that their leader was perfectly alright. "Yeah. Everyone got out, they're holed up here in Shinjuku right now."

A brief pause followed, though he heard Zero hum for a moment. "What of the Yamato Alliance? Are they causing any trouble, or are they still settling in?"

"They're quiet for the moment, though Yamato himself has stopped by to ask for a meeting with you at your earliest convenience." Ohgi replied, lightly bopping Tamaki on the head as the red-head had invaded his personal space in order to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Tell him I said hi!" Tamaki whispered enthusiastically, still making himself a nuisance.

And despite the fact that this conversation was supposed to be serious, Ohgi Kaname found himself laughing at the sheer immaturity of his friend. Something Zero seemed amused by if his own chuckles were any indication.

"Tell Tamaki I said hello, too." Zero began, cutting off the chuckling. "And tell Yamato-san that I will be able to meet with him later tonight. Also, round up your group Ohgi. We're going to be having a meeting of our own, regarding a new ally we've gained."

That certainly caught his attention. "You mean, the other Digimon..?" He muttered, feelings his eyes widen at the implication.

"Yes. Kuwagamon's partner will be joining our cause."

Tamaki heard that part too, his expression matching Ohgi's after a moment.

Two. They had TWO Champion level Digimon on their side, one of which was actually a weakened Ultimate. In addition to that, with any luck they would gain the support of the Yamato Alliance one way or another, and certainly the revelation that they possessed two digital monsters would go a long way in securing their aid, which meant that their humble little resistance group was moving up in the world.

Hell, even WITHOUT the Yamato Alliance's support they would be in the big leagues automatically just having two champion strength Digimon. Two champions could probably take on the JLF and have a fair shot at victory, especially considering one of them could fly and the other could move faster than any land based vehicle Ohgi had come across.

Zero had hung up, and Ohgi finally snapped out of his daze. "Tamaki, go round up the others. I'm pretty sure Kallen and Inoue were talking about something or another outside a little while ago, so they ought to be nearby."

The redhead gave a smarmy salute before heading off to locate the remainder of the Kouzuki Group, a large grin stretched across his face.

Ohgi couldn't blame him, things were seriously looking up for them after all.

With that uplifting thought in mind, Ohgi Kaname went off to find Yamato Izumi, leader of the Yamato Alliance, to give him the good news that Zero was alive, well, and wanted to meet with him in a less dire situation than their previous.

It was gonna be a good day.

* * *

So, Tamaki had wandered outside of the warehouse that served as their group's base of operations. All according to plan so far, considering he immediately spotted Inoue and Kallen idly chatting with one another only a few feet away.

And so, without bothering to consider the fact that he would be butting into the middle of their conversation, Tamaki sauntered on over to them with his shit eating grin in place.

"Inoue, Kallen!" He announced, making his presence known. Seeing them both stop talking to turn their gazes to him, Kallen's being more than a little harsh, he continued. "Zero's gonna be meetin' up with us later on, Ohgi's got me gatherin' everyone else up."

Inoue blinked, before giving a small nod. "Actually, it's fine. I'll go get everyone else. Kento told me where they were going." Without waiting for his reply, Inoue dashed off.

Leaving only Tamaki and an annoyed Kallen.

The redheaded girl sighed, clearly frustrated that her conversation partner was gone. "As happy as I am that Zero's alive and well, I had just gotten around to telling Inoue about something."

Tamaki, now without anything to do, shrugged. "Hey, I'm here. You could talk to me." He offered.

Kallen gave him a sideways look. "Fine. If you laugh I'll throw you off a building though, got it?"

Knowing that she'd likely do no more than slug him if he laughed, Tamaki threw up his hands in mock surrender. "Sure, sure. I'd been meanin' to take up sky diving, so it's all good."

His response made the younger girl glare at him for a moment, though his dopey grin made her relent. "I've been having weird dreams recently."

Normally, Tamaki would have looked for some sort of joke to crack. However, that sounded really familiar to him.

And for what seemed like the first time ever, to Kallen, Tamaki remained silent and motioned for her to continue her story. "Basically, I feel like I'm looking through someone else's eyes as they start exploring a cave or something."

Alarm bells were going off for Tamaki right now, considering that he was having that exact scenario run through his head every night. That couldn't be a coincidence, right? For him it had started the day of the Shinjuku purge.

"It began happening right around when we stole the gas, that night was the first time I had the dream." Yeah, no way that was a coincidence. Somethin' freaky was going on.

Kallen continued, unaware of Tamaki's thoughts. "I just walk alongside someone else for a while, but I never get a really good look at who they are. After a few minutes of walking we find this big wall with all kinds of markings and stuff on it. The other person with me steps up to the wall and does something to it, and it flashes all kinds of bright colors."

His brow furrowed. In his dreams, he had been the one who stepped up to the wall and pressed his hand against it. But Kallen's dream had her watching someone else doing it.

If that wasn't proof that their dreams were connected somehow, then Tamaki would put on a tutu and dance ballet.

Just as Kallen was about to continue, Tamaki interrupted her. "And then some funky lookin' little pink thing shows up, screeches at the top of it's lungs, and the dream ends. Right?"

Her eyes shot wide, as she tried to comprehend what he had just said. "H-how would you know that?" She hadn't told anyone about this yet. He was the first person to know.

And apparently he knew more than she figured he would.

"Cuz' I've been havin' that dream too." He admitted, scratching the back of his neck.

Kallen frowned. "That's creepy."

"I know, right?" He replied with a grin. "I was tryin' to tell Ohgi about it but he was ignorin' me. The ass." With that said, Tamaki realized something. "Oh hey, Inoue's probably found the other guys by now. Let's head into the hideout, yeah?"

"Wow, you're being the responsible one. That's even creepier." Kallen noted, sauntering off towards the hideout in question.

Tamaki growled, before doing the same.

They'd really have to talk more about these weird dreams, though. With all the crap going down recently it could mean anything.

* * *

Soon enough, all of them had gathered in the warehouse that served as their base of operations.

The building was pretty empty, aside from a ragged looking couch, a coffee table, and Ohgi's desk. It was also rather large, enough that they could all mill about the area without being cramped at all.

Hell, they could probably fit another twenty people in the building and still have plenty of space. It was a warehouse, after all.

But for the moment there were only nine people to worry about.

Yoshida and Minami were both leaning up against the nearest wall, Tamaki, Sugiyama and Inoue had taken the couch, Ohgi and Kallen were standing in front of the masked man himself as said man stood beside a mystery figure, who was wearing a hood and keeping their face hidden.

Aside from these nine humans, there were also two Digimon loitering about.

Keramon, who all the resistance fighters were familiar with, was casually coiled around Zero's shoulders. As though to mimic him, the green worm digimon had situated itself on the mystery figure's shoulders, reminiscent of a boa.

Zero and his mysterious ally had been the last to arrive, and their arrival had cut off any idle chatter that the freedom fighters were having beforehand.

Thus, it was quiet. A sort of tense silence, as many of the resistance cell members were somewhat wary of the newcomer.

The silence was broken by Zero. "It's good to see that everyone is alright, and that the evacuation went off without a hitch." He began, nodding towards them appreciatively. "If it wasn't for your efforts, many innocent civilians would have been killed during the purge itself or the battle that resulted."

Ohgi replied first, acting as the speaker for the group. "We may have gotten the civilians out, but if not for you there's no way we'd have been in a position to do so." And it was true. He'd contacted them before the purge had been announced over the news, well before it in fact. If not for that, they would never have been able to save those people.

A couple mutters of agreement came from the rebels, before one of them spoke up. "Look, Zero, I don't want to be rude, but we're all a bit anxious about the person you've brought with you." This came from Yoshida, who continued quickly. "While we know they're the one who saved you earlier, we don't know of their intentions." Or their face. That went without saying, because really if he was willing to trust a masked man with his life what was another unknown face?

The hooded figure seemed to flinch at their mention, almost looking as though they were trying to hide behind Zero. It was certainly a strange reaction, considering this person had a Digimon with them and had supposedly saved their leader from death.

It was also somewhat humorous, the sight of someone shyly ducking behind said leader while said man stood calmly, as though it was perfectly normal. "She's an ally. Care to introduce yourself, or shall I?"

Beneath her hood, Nina took a deep breath. This was probably going to be the hardest part.

Originally, Lelouch had intended to give her an alias similar to his own and a disguise to match. However, Nina had shot that idea down. She didn't want to be "another Zero" for a multitude of reasons, the most logical being the fact that having a "second Zero" in the form of whatever alias they came up with would diminish the original's appeal.

Zero was flashy, theatrical, new, and above all else he was unique. Never before had anyone done what Zero had and was doing. That is to say, fighting against Britannia successfully.

He was a miracle maker. Adding another "mysterious masked terrorist" into the mix would take attention away from Zero, which wasn't quite good. He was supposed to be a rallying point for others to flock to and so far he was doing just that. Everyone would be unified behind him and he would lead them towards victory.

While it wasn't going to make the entire thing fall apart if they were to throw in another masked rebel with some alias or another, Nina had other reasons for wanting to be known to these people as who she was.

With that in mind, she removed herself from Zero's shadow and stepped forward. Taking a deep breath, she reached up to her hood and slowly began to pull it off of her head.

"My name is Nina Einstein." She began, pausing for a moment as they all gasped at her Britannian features and name. "And this is Dokunemon." Her hand moved to pet her partner, as he turned to regard the gathered resistance members.

She gave them all a small smile, trying extremely hard to keep herself calm, as she finished her introduction. "We look forward to working with you."

The assorted rebels all had their own reactions to her.

Tamaki's eyes were bugged out, his jaw dropped, and he was stammering something incoherent. But, really, how the hell was he supposed to take this? Getting help from a Brit was the absolute LAST thing he expected. Never let it be said that Tamaki was a racist, but he had a healthy dislike for Brits. Considering all he'd been put through by them, it wouldn't be fair to judge him for being a bit shorter fused when it came to Brits. That didn't mean he hated all of them out of principle, though.

It was just a little hard for him to understand that a girl who looked to be Kallen's age was going to be one of their allies against Britannia.

Inoue, Sugiyama, and Yoshida were all just giving her surprised looks. They hadn't been expecting that, for sure, but it wasn't bad. Kallen was a half Britannian, and she was one of their closest friends and allies. And like Zero had said before, it wasn't the people of Britannia that they were fighting. It was the ideals. With that in mind, it was perfectly possible that a Britannian was also against those ideals. If anything, having a Britannian on their side meant they were more than just terrorists to Britannians.

Minami seemed completely unphased to anyone looking at him, with only a raised eyebrow showing that he knew what was going on. But, then, that was Minami for you.

Ohgi just blinked a few times, as though he was seeing things, before allowing himself a small shrug.

So she was Britannian, who cared? Zero vouched for her and that was all that really mattered here.

And then there was Kallen's reaction.

This one was the one that Lelouch had been wanting to see most, which the wide grin beneath his mask attested to.

The redhead did not disappoint. "N-Nina..?" Kallen wondered aloud, her eyes comically wide as she stared in unrestrained confusion at the green haired girl.

It was about that point that Lelouch realized something even more hilarious.

He'd forgotten to tell Nina that Kallen was with them, and it seemed as though she had been too nervous to notice her until now.

Nina confirmed this theory a moment later as she gasped. "Kallen!?" She squeaked, taking a step back. She turned to look towards Zero, who simply continued looking over the situation stoically.

And yes, he WAS smiling like a maniac beneath his mask. No one else needed to know that, though.

Unfortunately, Lelouch realized, this meant Kallen would probably piece together his identity. He'd known from the start that Nina showing herself as... well... herself, would have consequences.

But really, it was probably for the best that at least one of them knew who he was under his mask. It'd help foster a bit of trust.

And speaking of trust, he decided it was about time to show the assembled rebels some trust of his own. "Before the two of you have your reunion." He gestured towards Nina and Kallen, both of whom were too shocked by the other's presence to reply, before continuing. "I feel now is a good time to tell you all. I'm not Japanese."

His words sent another wave of surprise through the rebels, but it washed over quickly. Perhaps they'd begun considering that possibility once he introduced Nina to them? Hm. Either way, this admission would both foster trust between them and help integrate Nina into their group. Hopefully.

"In fact, I'm a Britannian myself. That is one of the reasons I originally approached you with this mask and alias." He continued on, allowing this to sink in to their minds. "If any of you have issues with working alongside Britannians, please say so now."

No one said anything. Hell, even Tamaki was quiet. That was new.

"So, what's next, you gonna tell us that you're a noble?" It couldn't last. Tamaki opened his mouth. "I mean, I don't think I'd even be surprised after all this."

It was a good thing Nina was so out of it, or she might have given something away. As it was Lelouch's grin beneath his mask was almost painfully large. "No, I'm afraid I'm not some Earl or Duke if that's what you're wondering."

The redhead snorted. "Bah, damn. You really let me down there, Zero." He was certainly taking this well.

"Sorry to disappoint." It took a massive force of will to keep from laughing at the sheer irony of this conversation.

* * *

After concluding their meeting, Zero went off to meet with Yamato Izumi. This left Nina in the warehouse with her new allies, none of whom seemed hostile to her thankfully.

Right now she was in a corner of the building, speaking with Kallen.

"I-I didn't know you were... well... here." Nina noted, toying with one of her braids.

Kallen snorted. "You think you were surprised? Imagine how I felt when the quietest, shiest girl I know shows up at Zero's side and says 'We look forward to working with you.'"

Nina giggled. "I suppose y-you have a point." She glanced over towards Dokunemon, who was coiled up and napping peacefully. "If it wasn't for him, I would be dead right now." The girl admitted quietly.

"What?" Kallen muttered, shocked by the sudden declaration. "Oh, you mean... during the Mass Breach? Right, that big red bug was your partner wasn't it?" She knew that it was, now, but being told that one of your acquaintances had nearly died kinda threw her for a loop.

The green haired girl nodded, still fiddling with her braid. "One of the Goburimon found it's way inside the building, and nearly killed me. Dokunemon saved me." Really, Nina wasn't quite sure what had made her decide to tell this story, but after a few seconds Nina decided what she wanted to say. "It was around that time that I actually stopped and thought about the world." Seeing she had Kallen's full attention, Nina continued speaking. "All of a sudden, I had the power to do things. But I hadn't ever thought of what I would do if I had that power before I had it."

Nina wasn't the kind of person to think about doing things she couldn't accomplish. That's not to say that she didn't think far into the future or anything, but she had never considered changing the political climate of the world because it was far outside of her reach, considering she was just a high school student working on a potentially world-changing project that would make Sakuradite outdated. If she could get it to work, that is.

"So, when you met Dokunemon you started to think about changing the world?" Kallen wondered. On some level she could understand that, since she had felt something similar when she had first begun to pilot that old Glasgow and completely outperformed Tamaki, who had been their best pilot at the time. It'd really put the world into perspective for her, that she could honestly _do _something.

The bespectacled girl gave a small nod, making it look like there was more to the story but she didn't really want to get into it. That was fine with Kallen, though. She understood that some things were just too personal to get into with people you didn't know well.

"It's kind of funny, Kallen." Nina said, looking around the warehouse. "I really never imagined I would be where I am today. I was just a normal student hardly a week ago, and suddenly I'm deciding to fight a war against Britannia."

Kallen shrugged. "It's been a long time since I was in that position, Nina. Now I feel more at home in a cockpit than I do in a classroom." Piloting a Knightmare was honestly the most liberating thing Kallen could think of. Being in control of a machine like that, and knowing that all of the power behind it could be used to further your dreams and ambitions was just a euphoric feeling for her.

Nina gave a small smile. "I hope I'll feel that comfortable with this one day, too." This was what she wanted to do, of that she was sure. But at the same time it was just such a large shift in her life. And being back in the ghettos, even if surrounded by friendly faces, was taking it's toll on her nerves for sure.

She was thankful that these people weren't hateful of her out of principle, though only Kallen and Ohgi had bothered to speak with her. Ohgi had been quite brief, but that was more because he was going to escort Zero to the Yamato Alliance's current hideout to meet with their leader. Hopefully the others would come to accept her, but if not then at least she had Kallen, Dokunemon, Lelouch, and Keramon.

"Hey." A voice called out, interrupting her thoughts. Looking up, Nina saw the other redhead of the group. Seeing he had her attention, the man continued with what he had to say. "Look, I'll be the first to admit I don't like the Brits for what they put our people through."

The man must have noticed her minute flinch, because he quickly continued in a reassuring tone. "But that doesn't mean I hate all of you!" Nina relaxed a bit, which made him sigh in relief. "I'm not good with talkin' to people. I'll keep it simple so I don't say somethin' stupid. Everyone here lost parts of their life to the Brits, everything from family to prized possessions. Even so, we're not bad people and we're not going to try and make you feel unwelcome here just cuz of your race."

With his piece said, the man held out his hand. "Name's Tamaki Shinichiro, it's nice ta meet you."

Nina accepted the offered hand with a small, nervous smile. "I'm Nina Einstein, and the feeling is mutual."

Tamaki grinned widely. "Great!" His grin was wiped off his face as Kallen knocked him upside the head. "Ow! What the hell was that for, Kallen!?" He shouted, turning to glare balefully at her.

"You were getting all rational and sappy. It was weird. You're supposed to be the loud, vulgar and belligerent one." Kallen replied cheekily, unphased by the glare.

Said belligerent just gave her a dry look. "I lost a game of jan-ken. No one wanted to come over because it'd be awkward as hell to butt into whatever conversation you were havin', but no one wanted to come up to her when she was alone because they didn't wanna freak her out."

That admittance made Nina smile a bit, though no one saw it since Tamaki and Kallen were trading insults back and forth now.

It really was funny how similar this situation was to being the new girl in school, and it was somewhat endearing that a bunch of so-called terrorists could be so... normal.

And then Kallen slugged Tamaki in the jaw.

Oh dear. Maybe a little less than normal.

* * *

In another warehouse, only about a ten minute walk away from the one where he had left Nina, Lelouch was looking over the leader of the Yamato Alliance.

Yamato Izumi was a tall man with long, black hair. The top of his head was covered by a bandanna, and a pair of glasses sat on his face. His clothes were about what one could expect from a man who'd been living in one of the rougher ghettos, being old and faded but still well taken care of.

He wore a plain grey shirt, covered by a long trench coat, and a pair of jeans tucked into combat boots. Even so, despite his rather plain appearance, Lelouch could tell at first glance that this man was a leader.

His stance was calm, his gaze calculating, and it was clear he had seen combat.

Yamato spoke first. "I'd like to thank you for your part in getting everyone out of Saitama."

Beneath his mask, Lelouch smiled a bit. He really was glad that everyone had gotten out, after all. After walking through the site of a massacre as a child, he was quite content to prevent events like that from happening whenever he could. "If you were in my position, you would have done the same. What Britannia attempted today was a crime against humanity and I couldn't sit by and watch it happen."

The long haired man nodded, having gotten the response he wanted. "Zero, I'll just say this as simply as I can. What do you intend to do?"

Lelouch allowed himself a chuckle. That was the best question he could have hoped for. "I will keep my reply simple as well, then. I intend to free Japan from Britannia."

"And what makes you so sure you can do what others have been failing at for seven years?" Yamato asked, giving the figure of Zero an appraising look.

"Because I know where and when to strike." Zero replied simply.

Once again, Yamato Izumi nodded. "My final question, Zero, is this. What are your allies to you? Men and women seeking their freedom, or pawns to be used for your own purposes?"

And once again, Lelouch smiled beneath his mask. "They are men and women who have a dream, Yamato-san. They dream of seeing their homeland freed from the clutches of a tyrannical empire. I wish to help them reach that dream. And I want to help them stay alive to see their dream realized." And in turn, they would help him realize his own dream.

To obliterate Britannia and raise it anew.

After a moment, Yamato smiled. "Alright then. As leader of the Yamato Alliance, I offer you our full support and cooperation. My men and I are yours to command."

And just like that, the forces Zero commanded went from nine to fifty nine, including himself. "I am grateful for your support. For the moment, Ohgi Kaname is the only one who can contact me directly." He gestured over to the man, who nodded in response. "Should anything arise that you feel require's my attention, refer to him. Also, as of now there is no formal command structure in place. Something will need to be done about that, but it will have to wait. For the moment I must take my leave."

With that said, Zero turned to do just that. But before leaving, he had one last thing to say. "Please refrain from acting without my consent for now. While I trust your capabilities as a leader, I would like to keep some semblance of order. Rest assured, we will have another opportunity to act soon."

* * *

"You should have told me Kallen was with you!" Nina muttered as she and Lelouch made their way back into Ashford via the tunnel system they had both used to leave. "She's not stupid, how am I supposed to explain how I even got into contact with Zero? She didn't say it earlier but I could t-tell it was on her mind."

Lelouch shrugged, glancing over towards the girl as they reached the elevator. "Worst case scenario she learns I'm Zero. Best case scenario she forgets all about it. To be quite honest, I'm fine with either at this point. My admission of being a Britannian, along with your introduction, will make some things go more smoothly later on. While it may have alerted Kallen to my identity, that's a risk that I'm willing to take."

The bespectacled girl looked skeptical, before deciding that he had the situation under control. It was Lelouch, after all, he wouldn't do something like that without thinking it through.

"The only issue I'm concerned with now would be dealing with the questions Nunnally will surely have, considering I left with a hastily thought up excuse and have been gone for several hours." He sighed. That would be painful to deal with, for sure. He'd have to either dodge the subject entirely, or lie to his little sister.

Or, perhaps he would tell a half truth. Yes, that would work. He could tell her it was a matter related to their safety and she would leave it at that, because she trusted him.

Granted, it would be excruciatingly painful to abuse the trust his little sister had in him, but it was a necessary evil in this case. She couldn't learn of his activities as Zero. He had no doubt she wouldn't approve, being the peaceful soul she was, and learning that all of this was for her sake at heart... he was afraid of what that knowledge would result in.

So for now he would abuse her trust, and shower her with his usual love and affection to ease away the guilt of doing so.

Nina must have noticed his turmoil, because she placed a hand on his shoulder in a show of support. "I'm sure you'll figure something out, Lelouch." Though she may have mistaken the source of his turmoil, since it seemed like she thought he was worried Nunnally would be able to worm a confession of evil deeds from him.

... Well, if she was trying to then yes, Nunnally probably could do just that. Thankfully she was a sweetheart and would likely leave it after he assured her everything was fine and gave his half-truth explanation.

Suddenly, his phone rang. Plucking the device from his pocket, Lelouch flipped it's top up and read off the name that appeared. "Hm, it's Milly." With that said, he answered the phone.

"Hey! Lelouch..." Lelouch frowned. That was her "mischievous" voice. That couldn't be good. The last time he had heard that tone was when she had spread the rumor that he and Rivalz were working as undercover agents for a secret organization. "You remember how you told a certain someone that they could visit you?"

Nope. Not good at all, then. "Yes..." He replied, knowing exactly who this certain someone was. "I take it she decided to come today, then?"

"Yes. And she's here. Right now." Well, that wasn't too bad honestly. He'd just meet with her, probably watch her reunion with his little sister, and then bid her farewell after an hour or so. "And, well, she's been here for an hour or so. Since I couldn't find you and nobody knew where you were, I _may _have let it slip that there were underground access tunnels that you used to make your way off campus discretely, and I _might _have given her the location of said tunnel's entrance..."

His eyes widened.

It was about that time that the elevator's door opened and revealed the figure of his sister, Euphemia li Britannia, standing alongside Milly who was giving him a nervous smile. "And we _could possibly _have been waiting here for... Nina? What are you doing here?" She trailed off, whatever she had intended to say lost as she caught sight of the green haired girl sharing the elevator with him.

This left Lelouch in a rather awkward position, as you may be able to guess. His oldest friend and the half-sister he had adored the most had both just caught him returning from an undisclosed location with Nina in tow. Thankfully both Tsumemon and Budmon had been hidden inside of his duffle bag.

The reason they were both in his bag would be because Nina hadn't taken along anything to hide Budmon in, being in such a rush to reach the ghetto.

Seeing that the situation could become quite volatile if left alone, Lelouch acted first.

Throwing up a sheepish smile, Lelouch rubbed the back of his head in an equally sheepish manner. "We were on a date." That would at least throw any heavy suspicions off of them. However, it did leave them with an interesting problem. He'd surprised everyone there with that "admission" and now would have to roll with it.

Of all the surprised reactions that comment brought, Lelouch was quite certain Nina's was the loudest.

* * *

And that's that chapter. So, some stuff goin' on. I introduced what will eventually come to be a major villain in this chapter, though it may not be what anyone's expecting and it'll be waaaaay on down the line.

Nina's "officially" with the Black Knights, who'll be making their debut as an organization soon. Euphemia's finally come by for her visit (Bet some of you thought I'd forgotten her, eh?) and has caught Lelouch arriving in secret with Nina.

You can bet the results of his last line will be hilarious.


End file.
